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Melbourne - The Sharks held off a spirited Melbourne Rebels outfit 34-32 in a thrilling Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Friday.
The Sharks stayed on top of the table with the bonus point win but they were made to work hard for the whole 80 minutes by the competition newcomers, who claimed two bonus points of their own in the defeat.
Both sides scored four tries, with only a narrowly missed conversion from the sideline from Melbourne's otherwise excellent Danny Cipriani separating the two.
"We showed a bit of grit," Sharks captain John Smit said.
"Perhaps we didn't come out of the blocks fast enough. We knew the Rebels had some good individuals and at some stage they were going to come together as a team and I think that's happening for them."
The Rebels had all the possession in the first 10 minutes and looked certain to score first, only to be held out by some superb defence from the South Africans.
After soaking up the early pressure the Sharks struck in the 12th minute with a penalty to Patrick Lambie, before hooker Bismarck du Plessis charged over near the posts after the visitors had held onto the ball for 15 phases.
A Cipriani penalty soon afterwards narrowed the gap to 10-3, but Lambie struck a magnificent 45-metre penalty goal to take the lead back to 10 points.
The Rebels then gave the Sharks a taste of their own medicine, absorbing some enormous pressure then hitting back with tries to winger Cooper Vuna and centre Julian Huxley, giving the home side an 18-13 lead at the break.
They struck again from the second half kick-off when the mercurial Cipriani broke the line 60 metres out and went on a dazzling run through the Sharks' defence for a brilliant individual try under the posts.
But the Sharks refused to give in and narrowed the gap when winger Lwazi Mvovo crossed after a break from flank Willem Alberts -- Lambie converted to make it 25-20 to the home side.
The Sharks finally got back in front with 10 minutes to go, number eight Ryan Kankowski crashing over next to the posts after Huxley had knocked on right on his own line.
The Rebels kept trying, only to be undone by some basic errors from experienced pair Huxley and Cipriani, the crucial mistake coming when Cipriani passed to no-one 60 metres out from his line and Sharks replacement Adrian Jacobs toed the ball ahead.
Cipriani sprinted back to cover but the ball was knocked out of his grasp in the tackle and centre Meyer Bosman scored under the posts.
The Rebels were not finished and they secured a four-try bonus point when flanker Jarrod Saffey crashed over with two minutes to go, but it was too late for the gallant home side and the Sharks held on for a tense victory.
Teams:
Rebels:
15. Mark Gerrard, 14. Lachlan Mitchell, 13. Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12. Julian Huxley, 11. Cooper Vuna, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Gareth Delve, 7. Michael Lipman, 6. Jarrod Saffy, 5. Kevin O'Neill, 4. Alister Campbell, 3. Greg Somerville, 2. Ged Robinson, 1. Nic Henderson
16. Heath Tessman, 17. Laurie Weeks, 18. Hugh Pyle, 19. Tim Davidson, 20. Richard Kingi, 21. Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22. Luke Rooney
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. John Smit (captain), 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Jannie du Plessis, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Adrian Jacobs
The Sharks stayed on top of the table with the bonus point win but they were made to work hard for the whole 80 minutes by the competition newcomers, who claimed two bonus points of their own in the defeat.
Both sides scored four tries, with only a narrowly missed conversion from the sideline from Melbourne's otherwise excellent Danny Cipriani separating the two.
"We showed a bit of grit," Sharks captain John Smit said.
"Perhaps we didn't come out of the blocks fast enough. We knew the Rebels had some good individuals and at some stage they were going to come together as a team and I think that's happening for them."
The Rebels had all the possession in the first 10 minutes and looked certain to score first, only to be held out by some superb defence from the South Africans.
After soaking up the early pressure the Sharks struck in the 12th minute with a penalty to Patrick Lambie, before hooker Bismarck du Plessis charged over near the posts after the visitors had held onto the ball for 15 phases.
A Cipriani penalty soon afterwards narrowed the gap to 10-3, but Lambie struck a magnificent 45-metre penalty goal to take the lead back to 10 points.
The Rebels then gave the Sharks a taste of their own medicine, absorbing some enormous pressure then hitting back with tries to winger Cooper Vuna and centre Julian Huxley, giving the home side an 18-13 lead at the break.
They struck again from the second half kick-off when the mercurial Cipriani broke the line 60 metres out and went on a dazzling run through the Sharks' defence for a brilliant individual try under the posts.
But the Sharks refused to give in and narrowed the gap when winger Lwazi Mvovo crossed after a break from flank Willem Alberts -- Lambie converted to make it 25-20 to the home side.
The Sharks finally got back in front with 10 minutes to go, number eight Ryan Kankowski crashing over next to the posts after Huxley had knocked on right on his own line.
The Rebels kept trying, only to be undone by some basic errors from experienced pair Huxley and Cipriani, the crucial mistake coming when Cipriani passed to no-one 60 metres out from his line and Sharks replacement Adrian Jacobs toed the ball ahead.
Cipriani sprinted back to cover but the ball was knocked out of his grasp in the tackle and centre Meyer Bosman scored under the posts.
The Rebels were not finished and they secured a four-try bonus point when flanker Jarrod Saffey crashed over with two minutes to go, but it was too late for the gallant home side and the Sharks held on for a tense victory.
Teams:
Rebels:
15. Mark Gerrard, 14. Lachlan Mitchell, 13. Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12. Julian Huxley, 11. Cooper Vuna, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Gareth Delve, 7. Michael Lipman, 6. Jarrod Saffy, 5. Kevin O'Neill, 4. Alister Campbell, 3. Greg Somerville, 2. Ged Robinson, 1. Nic Henderson
16. Heath Tessman, 17. Laurie Weeks, 18. Hugh Pyle, 19. Tim Davidson, 20. Richard Kingi, 21. Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22. Luke Rooney
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Stefan Terblanche, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. John Smit (captain), 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16. Craig Burden, 17. Jannie du Plessis, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Adrian Jacobs
