The Sharks made life difficult for themselves on Saturday afternoon in Durban, but they can breathe again after a convincing 38-7 (halftime 19-0) win over Oyonnax in the EPCR Challenge Cup at Kings Park.
It was hardly the complete performance, even though it was a convincing win, but when your opponents start to walk by the 20th minute of the match and are struggling in your home conditions, you have to be more clinical in the victory.
But knock-ons, lost lineouts, poor decision-making at times, and ill-discipline halted the Sharks from gaining momentum throughout the clash. Yes, it was a hot and humid afternoon in Durban, but the Sharks train in those conditions and they should be more used to it than their opponents.
The times they got momentum on the attack, they played like a team with quality players. And to be frank, they are a team full of quality players that can do better than what they produced yesterday at times.
They'll take the win, though, and it will see them take the top of Pool 1 in the Challenge Cup ahead of the Cheetahs, who play against Pau in Amsterdam on Sunday.
It will also bring some much-needed confidence for the coastal team after losing their last couple of matches.
They led 19-0 at halftime thanks to three good tries on the attack, but when Oyonnax scored the first points of the second half, Sharks supporters probably thought “not again” after last weekend's comeback win by the Lions after the home side led 18-3 when they turned. The Lions won 20-18 at the death.
Those three first-half tries were good ones and the Sharks' workhorse Bok prop Ox Nche scored two of them after only 26 minutes of play. He was solid in the scrums and on defence, but his support play and some good footwork saw him grab the first five-pointer of the game.
For the second one, he bulldozed over in the right-hand corner with some good powerplay after a good attacking buildup by his side. In that first 30 minutes, he also made a brilliant turnover at the breakdown when Oyonnax was on the attack.
Arguably the best try for the home side came when nippy scrumhalf Grant Williams took a quick tap penalty inside his 22-meter area after spotting some space. After the breakdown, Williams again put a dink over the last defence, and speedster Makazole Mapimpi chased it down to score a third of the half.
After starting so well, they should've banked the bonus-point try in the first half already, but their French opponents kept fighting, and they were first out of the blocks in the second half. They scored after an early dropped ball by Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi and from that knock-on, a range of Sharks errors, including some penalties, halted their momentum in the second half.
They scored three tries to double their tally in the final forty, but more dropped balls, their scrum going backwards at times when Nche and tighthead Hanro Jacobs left the field, and a yellow card to replacement prop Khwezi Mona halted them from kicking on, and scoring more points.
They will be happy with the victory, it was needed, especially the defensive effort, but there are lots of work-ons for the Durban side if they want to turn their season around completely.
Point-scorers
Sharks 38 — Tries: Ox Nche (2), Makazole Mapimpi (2), Lukhanyo Am, Lappies Labuschagne. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (4).
Oyonnax 7 — Try: Thibault Berthaud. Conversion: Justin Bouraux.
IOL Sport