ICYMI: Cell C Sharks Slump to Shock Defeat Against Glasgow in Vodacom United Rugby Championship

ICYMI: Cell C Sharks Slump to Shock Defeat Against Glasgow in Vodacom United Rugby Championship

Keba Mothoagae
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:59 PM
  • The Cell C Sharks were subdued unexpectedly by Edingburgh in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in a soaked Durban last night
  • The visitors gave a lesson in game management of wet weather as they saw off the disappointing hosts 21-5
  • The result, while not fatal to their play-off hopes, certainly threw a spanner into their works as local rivals the Vodacom Bulls jumped above them on the log table

Scottish international Blair Kinghorn dotted down twice as Edinburgh thoroughly outfoxed the Cell Cell C Sharks at soaking Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

The 21-5 result was a historically significant one, as it was the first United Rugby Championship victory by a European side on African soil.

cell c sharks, edinburgh, vodacom, united rugby championship, siya kolisi
Edinburgh was too good for the Sharks in Durban last night. Image source: @EdinburghRugby
Source: Twitter

The Scots were simply a level above the hosts in the game management of wet weather conditions. This was all too apparent as they led deservingly at halftime through Kinghorn's first try, though Thomas du Toit did reduce the deficit.

However, Emiliano Boffelli - who kicked three out of three conversions - and Kinghorn completed a landmark win in a superb away performance to end Sharks' run of four straight victories.

Edinburgh remain fifth in the table, with Sharks dropping to seventh after Stormers' win over Ulster.

The Sharks tried to exert pressure early on, but were punished for Marius Louw's over-enthusiasm as centre Marius Louw received a yellow card from Italian referee Andrea Piardi after tackling the troublesome Kinghorn as he leapt to catch a ball.

With Louw cooling off so early in the match, Edingburg took advantage ruthlessly, as captain Mark Bennett broke the Sharks' defensive line, feeding Kinghorn the ball to touch down.

Boffelli's conversion made it 7-0 and Edinburgh's cause was helped when an erratic Curwin Bosch failed to find the target with a penalty chance from in front of the posts.

The visitors had lock Pierce Phillips sin-binned at the end of a demanding first 40 minutes after the Scottish team repeatedly infringed despite warnings from the referee.

The Sharks had a golden opportunity to tie the match, but the bullocking Ox Nche spilled the ball with the tryline beckoning. However, they did eventually break through resolute Edinburgh defence, as du Toit completed a barrage of pounding away at the goal line.

Bosch could not convert, with Edinburgh then taking play back into the Sharks' half through number eight Ben Muncaster's powerful charge, and Boffelli crossed for another impressive try before adding the extras.

It proved the game's decisive score, with the Sharks unable to find a way back into the contest as Kinghorn's late opportunist effort sealed the victory.

Vodacom Bulls slay the Dragons in entertaining United Rugby Championship match

Kurt-Lee Arendse scored a brace of tries to help the Vodacom Bulls seal a bonus-point 55-20 victory over the Dragons at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

As reported on Sports Brief, the home team was expected to put the Welsh visitors to the sword, with the latter sitting second-bottom on the log table.

They duly obliged, running in eight tries against an overwhelmed opponent; a result that secured a sixth home win for South African sides over the Welsh regions this season.

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Keba Mothoagae
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