SYDNEY – The Sharks claimed their first win in Sydney since 2000 as they overcame a 14-man Waratahs side 23-15 in their Super Rugby match on Saturday.
After two losses at home to the Jaguares and Reds, this is a vital confidence-boosting win for the Sharks, regardless of the fact that they played the majority of the second half against a depleted ‘Tahs team after lock Jed Holloway was red-carded.
The Waratahs enjoyed plenty of possession during the early exchanges of this clash, but it would in fact be the Sharks who struck first when Dan du Preez burst over the tryline from close range early on.
However, the ‘Tahs responded when they manipulated the Sharks' defence far too easily, with Jake Gordon ultimately finishing off the simplest of tries in the 25th minute.
Those were the two highlights in what was an otherwise rather scrappy first half, with both sides heading into the break with the scores level 10-10.
However, the match turned on its head when Holloway was shown a red card soon after the restart for a strike to the head of Thomas du Toit. The latter was also shown a yellow card for holding the player off the ball.
To make matters worse for the Waratahs, Jack Dempsey was then also sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, while Andre Esterhuizen immediately struck for the Sharks with a well-finished try.
From there, Curwin Bosch knocked over a couple of penalties to cap a solid performance at flyhalf as the Sharks came away with a valuable victory.
Scorers:
Waratahs
15 (10): Tries: Jake Gordon, Bernard Foley. Conversion: Foley. Penalties: Foley.
Sharks
23 (10): Tries: Dan du Preez, Andre Esterhuizen. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalties: Bosch (3).