Sharks overcome poor start to battle to URC win over Ulster in Belfast

The Sharks overcame a turgid first half to claw their way to a vital 22-19 United Rugby Championship win over Ulster in Belfast on Saturday night.

As they did the previous week in Edinburgh, the Sharks misfired throughout the game, yet somehow got over the line to harvest four vital log points on the road.

The Durbanites were 19-0 down after half an hour, and looked like they hadn’t rocked up for kickoff.

It was not an excuse that Springbok legend Eben Etzebeth was a late withdrawal because of flu, with a late reshuffle seeing Vincent Tshituka moving from flank to lock and his brother, Manu, taking his place in the loose trio.

The Tshituka brothers were arguably the best Sharks players on the field.

Shortly after kickoff, a two-try burst by the pumped-up home team rocked the Sharks on to the back foot.

First flyhalf Jack Murphy scored, and then centre Jude Postlethwaite finished off a counter-attack after a Sharks probe into the Ulster 22 had come unstuck.

The Sharks looked fast asleep, and it was a big worry when the Ulster scrum steamrolled over their opponents in the first set piece.

The lineout also creaked at the first throw-in, and when Jordan Hendrikse dropped an up-and-under, it confirmed a team in disarray.

It took 30 minutes for the Sharks to fashion a meaningful attack, only for it to end badly.

Ulster counter-rucked under pressure in their 22, won the ball, worked it on the blindside, and 70 metres later, scrumhalf Nathan Doak scored at the other end of the field.

The Sharks frantically fought back, and it was beefy lock Jason Jenkins who broke through the defence and stampeded 20 metres before being tackled.

Ulster fullback Jacob Stockdale illegally tried to steal the ball, but it went back to Jaden Hendrikse, and he looped a wide pass to the corner for Makazole Mapimpi to dart over.

Stockdale was yellow-carded for his indiscretion, and the deficiency in defence seemed to have been exploited by the Sharks when they took the ball through the phases until Mapimpi went over in the 39th minute, but the TMO contentiously ruled a forward pass in the build-up.

Replays showed that the final pass from Aphelele Fassi to Mapimpi was flat at worst, but the officials seemed to be influenced by the crowd’s appeal for a forward pass.

The poor call was crucial, and the Sharks went into the shed 19-5 in arrears, and with a mountain to climb.

The visitors were much better in the second half, but several good opportunities were squandered by untidy work at the breakdown, where Ulster won several crucial turnovers.

To be fair to the Sharks, they manfully stuck to the task, and eventually they secured enough phase play for Vincent Tshituka to crash over. It was 19-12 at the three-quarter mark and the Sharks had hope.

Ten minutes before time, Jurenzo Julius, on for Lukhanyo Am, boogied through the defence to complete the Sharks’ best build-up of the game.

Jordan Hendrikse’s conversion made it 19-19.

With three minutes to go, Hendrikse kicked the three points to secure the spoils.

Points-Scorers

Sharks 22 – Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Vincent Tshituka, Jurenzo Julius. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2). Penalty: Hendrikse (1).

Ulster 19 – Tries: Jack Murphy, Jude Postlethwaite, Nathan Doak. Conversions: Murphy (2).