Sharks throw away lead in Munster draw
The Sharks committed secondhalf hara-kiri in this United Rugby Championship (URC) match as they threw away a big lead and the opportunity to play in next season’s Champions Cup.
Munster, resolute and resilient, staged a remarkable comeback to draw the match 22-all at Kings Park.
The results condemned the Sharks to an away quarterfinal to league leaders Leinster, while Munster earned a short trip to Scotland, where they will face Glasgow Warriors.
The visitors didn’t so much as catch a second wind as they were in the throes of a second coming when they turned the match on its head in the second half after being 22-3 down shortly after the break.
Jean Klein, Malakai Fekitoa, Conor Murray and captain Peter O’Mahony were instrumental in getting their team back into the contest.
In mitigation, the Sharks lost Siya Kolisi and Curwin Bosch in the first half.
Still, the hosts had a lot going for them.
On the back of a dominant scrum, the Sharks appeared to squeeze the life out of Munster who, for most of the first half, failed to invoke the spirit that carried them to victory a week earlier against the Stormers.
By the break, the Sharks had played themselves into a position of strength, going 19-3 up.
Munster ’ s cause was further undermined by poor discipline. As the game wore on, they drew the Sharks into closer combat, at times through nefarious means.
Captain O’Mahony showed a remarkable lack of composure as he escalated a scuffle that did not require his heavyhanded attention.
It served its purpose, though, as the Sharks gradually lost their composure, shape and the big moments.
As Kolisi stayed down early on, Kings Park fell silent as it held its collective breath.
The Bok captain was halfway to being mummified by the time the medics stopped strapping his leg before Kolisi was pressed back into action.
His time on the field was short-lived, as he was withdrawn after Bongi Mbonambi scored the game’s first try.
That try had its roots in the move that led to Kolisi’s injury as the Sharks first had the benefit of an attacking scrum before they refocused their energy to a five-metre line-out.
Mbonambi peeled off the back of the ensuing maul and used all his strength as he surged for the line.
The match ran the risk of degenerating into a scrappy affair in the second half as both sides paid more attention to each other than the ball. It was Munster, however, who altered the course of the clash.
Scorers:
Sharks (22): Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Werner Kok, Sikhumbuzo Notshe. Conversion: Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlain. Penalty: Chamberlain. Munster (22): A penalty try, Calvin Nash, Conor Murray. Conversion: Ben Healey. Penalty: Jack Crowley.