THE SHARKS cratered in the final twenty minutes at Hive Stadium as a disciplined Edinburgh outfit ran away with a 33-28 United Rugby Championship win. VINCENT KOCH scored a monster try to give the visitors a glimmer of hope, but the Durban side ultimately stalled at the tracks. VINCENT TSHITUKA was the best Sharks player on the field today, putting in a massive shift and crossing the whitewash in the 80th minute to salvage a losing bonus point.
The injury that forced Jaden Hendrikse off the pitch early had a huge influence on the match momentum and tactical flow. The Sharks had plenty of opportunities throughout the contest but just couldn’t get things done when it mattered most. Darcy Graham looked dangerous again from a Scottish rugby point of view, constantly testing the outside channels and exploiting defensive lapses.
The Edinburgh backline remained unpredictable all night while the Sharks gave them way too much space to do their thing. Makazole Mapimpi looked dangerous at times for the visitors, yet he simply had no real chances to finish in clinical areas. The inability to exit cleanly or capitalize on pressure cost the Sharks any hope of stealing the result at the death despite the late flurry.
“Vincent Koch scored a monster try but the Sharks unfortunately didn’t deserve to be in the final eight of this year’s URC.” – Jay | JPS
Losing focus and failing to convert opportunities is becoming a worrying trend for the Durban faithful.
📸 Image via BBC / Edinburgh Rugby
