The Sharks beat the Stormers five tries to two at Kings Park, inflicting both of the Cape Town side’s URC defeats so far this season.
The Sharks secured back-to-back wins against the Stormers when they followed their stunning victory in Cape Town last weekend with a more hard-fought 36-24 win in Durban on Saturday.
The Sharks upset the normally dominant Stormers’ set-piece in Cape Town. While the Stormers improved in this area at Kings Park, they were pegged back by a strong Sharks kicking game, and were punished right after receiving two yellow cards.
The tight contest was settled in the 72nd minute when the Stormers made one mistake too many, with replacement fullback Warrick Gelant proving too lax in grounding the ball, allowing the Sharks to score.
The Sharks’ bonus-point win was their fifth victory in seven matches under new interim coach JP Pietersen.
Cracking coastal derby
It took just 23 seconds for the Stormers to register points. Winning a turnover on the kick-off, scrumhalf Cobus Reinach found a gap from a tap-and-go.
However, Stormers flanker Paul de Villiers received a yellow card for collapsing a maul on the attack after eight minutes. The Sharks followed that up with a score from a pick-and-go, scrumhalf Grant Williams dotting down.
But Jordan Hendrikse’s conversion was offset by two Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty kicks.
Still, after a few attacking opportunities, Sharks centre Ethan Hooker powered over in the 24th minute. Hendrikse’s conversion gave the Sharks a 14-11 lead.
The score remained unchanged for much of the second quarter, thanks to a disallowed Stormers try, until two long-range penalties by Feinberg-Mngomezulu gave the Stormers a 17-14 lead at the break.
Sharks and Stormers take go to the wire
De Villiers made up for his earlier yellow card with a great line-break and converted try early in the second half. But again the Sharks hit back just minutes later, captain André Esterhuizen crashing over from a drive. The conversion cut the deficit to three points.
Stormers lock Ruben van Heerden earned a yellow card in the build-up to the try, and the Sharks once again scored right after receiving numerical advantage. Wing Jaco Williams found a gap to score a converted try in the 53rd minute.
The Sharks extended their lead to 31-24 after a Hendrikse penalty in the 69th minute. The Sharks scored an unlikely try when Jaco Williams dived to beat Warrick Gelant to the ball after the Stormers fullback was lax in grounding it in his own in-goal area in the 72nd minute.
The Stormers had one final opportunity at the death, but were held up.
Scorers
Sharks: Tries – Grant Williams, Ethan Hooker, André Esterhuizen, Jaco Williams (2). Conversions – Jordan Hendrikse 4/5. Penalties – Hendrikse 1/1.
Stormers: Tries – Cobus Reinach, Paul de Villiers. Conversions – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 1/2. Penalties – Feinberg-Mngomezulu 4/4.
