Two late tries — one an intercept — handed the Hollywoodbets Sharks a 26-20 victory over Leinster at Kings Park on Saturday, keeping their unbeaten URC record intact and lifting them to the top of the log.
The result flattered the hosts. Leinster controlled 65 per cent of possession and 70 per cent of territory, and repeatedly had the Sharks camped inside their own half for large stretches of the second half. The Sharks' inability to put the game to bed was underscored in the final 90 seconds when they conceded a penalty that allowed Andrew Osborne to score in the corner and earn Leinster a losing bonus point — the second successive week the Irish province salvaged something from a defeat with a young squad.
The Sharks' most compelling contribution came at scrum time. Thomas du Toit, deployed at loosehead, was relentless against Thomas Clarkson, drawing a string of penalties before Clarkson was eventually yellow-carded. Andrew Porter, who endured a torrid evening against the Springbok front row in last year's Test, would have recognised the pattern. The Sharks' scrum was the platform that kept them competitive when their attack offered little else.
The penalty count told its own story: Leinster conceded 10 in the opening half-hour through poor discipline, but the Sharks finished the match having given away 15 to Leinster's 13 as the visitors' relentless carrying and ball-retention forced the home side into repeated infringements.
Under JP Pietersen, Durban has a different feel, and the log position is genuine — but the Sharks' inability to impose themselves against a Leinster side built around Jacques Nienaber's defensive system, and not at full strength, is a benchmark the squad will need to address as the competition deepens.