Sharks' South African prop Ox Nche (R) and Sharks' South African lock Gerbrandt Grobler (L) tackle Bordeaux-Begles' French lock Alban Roussel (C) during the European Champions Cup pool A rugby union match between Sharks and Bordeaux-Begles at Kings Park stadium in Durban FILE. The match-winning try was scored by Sharks hooker Fez Mbatha more than five minutes after the hooter as the Dragons were heading for a 30-26 victory in their United Rugby Championship clash. Picture: Phill Magakoe/AFP
The Sharks overturned a 17-point deficit to beat Dragons 33-30 in a United Rugby Championship (URC) thriller at Rodney Parade, in Newport, on Saturday.
The match-winning try was scored by Sharks hooker Fez Mbatha more than five minutes after the hooter as the Dragons were heading for a 30-26 victory. In fact, the Sharks were relentless in pursuit of the win as they put together 20 phases on attack, before the honours fell to Mbatha who claimed all the glory for his side.
The Sharks outscored the Dragons by five tries to four, to score an invaluable victory on the road.
With their first win two games into the new URC season, the Sharks rise to six points - the same number as Dragons after three matches.
Just in case you needed a reminder of the #VURC basics, Gerrie is on hand to refresh the memory 😏
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 4, 2024
Round three kicks off tonight with all four South African teams in action tomorrow 🍿 pic.twitter.com/INnWV0GQG3
Earlier, Dragons flyhalf Lloyd Evans opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute, before flanker Taine Basham scored the first try of the game in the 17th. Evans was on target again with the conversion (10-0).
Sharks number eight Manu Tshituka responded with a try in the 21st minute (10-5).
A few minutes later, Dragons prop Chris Coleman barged over for a try to make it 15-5, before their lead was extended to 22-5 with minutes remaining in the first half.
The Sharks, however, hit back with a try from fullback Jordan Hendrikse just before the break, with flyhalf Siya Masuku adding the extra two (22-12) to keep his side in the game heading to the interval.
In the second half, Dragons lock Ben Carter scored the only try for his team while the Sharks managed five-pointers from Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Hooker and finally Mbatha to steal the spoils.
Earlier in the day, the Lions and the Bulls also won their URC matches, back home at Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld respectively.