Durban - The Sharks booted their on-and-off field travails firmly into touch when they showed courage and skill in equal measure to see off Harlequins 39-31 in a Heineken Cup match that oozed with drama at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
There were sublime tries from both sides, a return to form for Springbok ace Makazole Mapimpi, a homecoming brace for Quins centre Andre Esterhuizen, plus yellow and red cards that reduced the Sharks to 13 men for much of the final quarter.
Quins might have been missing a few (injured) big names such as England flyhalf Marcus Smith, but they still had plenty of quality and the attack-minded London team showed their intent in the fourth minute when flyhalf Tommy Allan kicked a close-range penalty to the corner and a series of slick phases later, wing Josh Bassett scored.
The Sharks equalised in typical fashion, a trademark Bongi Mbonambi maul try, and when Curwin Bosch added a penalty soon after the conversion, they went into a 10-7 lead.
That exploded into an imposing lead when, at long last, Mapimpi ended his try-scoring drought when he burst through a slender gap in the Quins’ 22 and nothing was going to stop him, so determined was his charge to the line.
It just got better for the veteran winger when he cashed in after a magnificent sleight of hand by Jaden Hendrikse from an advancing set scrum near the Harlequins line — Hendrikse looked as if he would feed the waiting backline but instead flicked it out of the back of his hand to Mapimpi on the blindside.
The Sharks had a dose of their own medicine as half-time approached when Quins kicked another penalty to the corner and this time flank Matt Evans went over from the maul for a 22-14 score at the break.
As expected, it was in the set pieces that the Sharks had their advantage, with Ox Nche spearheading a dominant set scrum where he won his battle against former Bok Wilco Louw, and Eben Etzebeth commanding the lineouts.
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The Sharks took the game by the scruff of the neck when, out of nothing, the effervescent Werner Kok created a contender for the Try of the Year. He gathered a nothing pass around the halfway line and then kicked a perfectly-weighted 50m kick to the Harlequins in-goal area and outstripped the cover defence for the dot-down.
A window of opportunity opened for Harlequins to stage a comeback when Mbonambi was yellow-carded because of multiple infringements at the breakdown, and it widened deeply when Nche was red-carded when he went into a tackle too upright and made head contact with the ball carrier.
With 20 minutes to go, the Sharks were down to 13. It helped when Bosch kicked a long-range penalty but when Esterhuizen scored on his old home stomping ground, it was game on at 32-21.
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Esterhuizen finished strongly in the corner for his brace as Quins made the most of their numerical advantage and then he befitted from a refereeing howler when he took a blatantly forward pass from Allan to set up a second try for Bassett in the corner.
The conversion was missed to leave the Sharks 32-31 in front but it no longer mattered when they surged home when fullback Boeta Chamberlain finished off after a break by Sikhumbuzo Notshe.
Scorers
Sharks: Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Makazole Mapimpi (2), Werner Kok, Boeta Chamberlain. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (4). Penalties: Bosch (2).
Harlequins: Tries: Josh Bassett (2), Matt Evans, Andre Esterhuizen (2). Conversions: Tommy Allan (3)
IOL Sport