Cape Town - In a match littered with errors and the sooner forgotten the better, the Sharks edged the Rebels in their Super Rugby clash in Durban on Friday.
As it happened: Sharks v Rebels
The Sharks won 25-21 after leading 10-7 at half-time.
The Sharks scored tries through wing S’bura Sithole, fullback Lwazi Mvovo and replacement back Heimar Williams. Flyhalf Lionel Cronje added two conversions and two penalties.
The Rebels, who played for more than 50 minutes with 14 men after prop Laurie Weeks was shown a straight red for a series of punches thrown at counterpart Jannie du Plessis, replied with a brace of tries by skipper Scott Higginbotham and late effort by replacement Bryce Hegarty. Flyhalf Jack Debreczeni converted all three tries.
The Sharks picked up four points for their victory, but remained fourth in the South African Conference and 11th in the Overall standings.
The Rebels picked up a point for losing by seven or fewer points, and stayed third in the Australian Conference and 10th in the Overall log.
In next weekend's Round 17 action, the Sharks have a bye while the Rebels head back to Melbourne to face the Bulls (Saturday, June 6 at 07:30).
Teams:
Sharks15. Lwazi Mvovo, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. S’bura Sithole, 10. Lionel Cronje, 9. Stefan Ungerer, 8. Renaldo Bothma, 7. Etienne Oosthuizen, 6. Khaya Majola, 5. Marco Wentzel (captain), 4. Mouritz Botha, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Franco Marais, 17. Matt Stevens, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20. Jean Deysel, 21. Conrad Hoffmann, 22. Fred Zeilinga, 23. Heimar Williams
Rebels
15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Sefanaia Naivalu, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7 Colby Fainga’a, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith
Substitutes: 16 Tom Sexton, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Jordy Reid, 23 Bryce Hegarty