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Perth - The Sharks maintained their perfect start to the Super 15 season with a commanding 39-12 win over Australia's Western Force on Saturday.
The Sharks, who are now unbeaten in their first three matches, ran in five unanswered tries against a Force side rattled early by injury and a man down for most of the game.
Also beaten in their first outing, the Force lost Mitch Inman to a dislocated elbow in just the seventh minute and a couple of minutes later had David Pocock limp off with a knee injury.
Already down 7-3 after an early Odwa Ndungane try, the Force then were reduced to 14 men in the 18th minute.
Reserve Rory Sidey, who came on from Inman, was sent off for the remainder of the match for a spear tackle on Ndungane, with the Sharks star stretchered off and unable to take any further part in the game.
Ndungane had given his side the early momentum when he capitalised on a turnover by Sidey, hacking a loose ball forward and then diving on it for a try in the 10th minute.
Just moments after Ndungane was carried off, the Sharks extended their lead when they won the line-out at the resumption and drove over the line for Bismarck du Plessis to score a try.
The boot of James O'Connor kept the Force alive through penalties, but in the 34th minute Steven Sykes picked up a loose ball and lumbered over for the Sharks' third try.
Up 19-9 at the break, the Sharks twice had tries by reserve Lwazi Mvovo disallowed in the second half.
The Force rolled the dice in the 59th minute, turning down the chance to close to within a converted try through an easy penalty, instead pressing for a try, but the Sharks were able to maintain their perfect record of not conceding a try in 2011.
The Sharks sealed the win when a period of sustained pressure ended with Willem Alberts bustling over for the bonus point try in the 70th minute.
The Force finished the match with 13 men after Nick Cummins was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle in the 77th minute, with exciting Sharks youngster Patrick Lambie capping a superb individual performance with a try in the dying seconds to take his total for the match to 19 points.
Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche said it was the perfect start to the their four-match tour.
"It's good to get the tour away with a win under the belt," he said.
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe lamented an error-riddled performance by his team.
"We failed to capitalise on everything we did," he said.
"At times we had the Sharks under pressure."
Scorers:
Force 12(9) – Penalties: James O’Connor (4).
Sharks 39(19) – Tries: Odwa Ndungane, Bismarck du Plessis, Steven Sykes, Willem Alberts, Pat Lambie. Conversions: Pat Lambie (4). Penalties: Lambie (2).
Teams:
Western Force:
15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Gene Fairbanks, 11 David Smith, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Ben McCalman, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ben Whittaker, 1 Pek Cowan
Substitutes: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Sam Wykes, 19 Tevita Metuisela, 20 James Stannard, 21 Alfie Mafi, 22 Rory Sidey
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Stefan Terblanche (captain), 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Beast Mtawarira.
Substitutess: 16. Craig Burden, 17. John Smit, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Lwazi Mvovo.
The Sharks, who are now unbeaten in their first three matches, ran in five unanswered tries against a Force side rattled early by injury and a man down for most of the game.
Also beaten in their first outing, the Force lost Mitch Inman to a dislocated elbow in just the seventh minute and a couple of minutes later had David Pocock limp off with a knee injury.
Already down 7-3 after an early Odwa Ndungane try, the Force then were reduced to 14 men in the 18th minute.
Reserve Rory Sidey, who came on from Inman, was sent off for the remainder of the match for a spear tackle on Ndungane, with the Sharks star stretchered off and unable to take any further part in the game.
Ndungane had given his side the early momentum when he capitalised on a turnover by Sidey, hacking a loose ball forward and then diving on it for a try in the 10th minute.
Just moments after Ndungane was carried off, the Sharks extended their lead when they won the line-out at the resumption and drove over the line for Bismarck du Plessis to score a try.
The boot of James O'Connor kept the Force alive through penalties, but in the 34th minute Steven Sykes picked up a loose ball and lumbered over for the Sharks' third try.
Up 19-9 at the break, the Sharks twice had tries by reserve Lwazi Mvovo disallowed in the second half.
The Force rolled the dice in the 59th minute, turning down the chance to close to within a converted try through an easy penalty, instead pressing for a try, but the Sharks were able to maintain their perfect record of not conceding a try in 2011.
The Sharks sealed the win when a period of sustained pressure ended with Willem Alberts bustling over for the bonus point try in the 70th minute.
The Force finished the match with 13 men after Nick Cummins was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle in the 77th minute, with exciting Sharks youngster Patrick Lambie capping a superb individual performance with a try in the dying seconds to take his total for the match to 19 points.
Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche said it was the perfect start to the their four-match tour.
"It's good to get the tour away with a win under the belt," he said.
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe lamented an error-riddled performance by his team.
"We failed to capitalise on everything we did," he said.
"At times we had the Sharks under pressure."
Scorers:
Force 12(9) – Penalties: James O’Connor (4).
Sharks 39(19) – Tries: Odwa Ndungane, Bismarck du Plessis, Steven Sykes, Willem Alberts, Pat Lambie. Conversions: Pat Lambie (4). Penalties: Lambie (2).
Teams:
Western Force:
15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Gene Fairbanks, 11 David Smith, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Matt Hodgson, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Ben McCalman, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ben Whittaker, 1 Pek Cowan
Substitutes: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Sam Wykes, 19 Tevita Metuisela, 20 James Stannard, 21 Alfie Mafi, 22 Rory Sidey
Sharks:
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Stefan Terblanche (captain), 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. JP Pietersen, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Alistair Hargreaves, 4. Steven Sykes, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis, 1. Beast Mtawarira.
Substitutess: 16. Craig Burden, 17. John Smit, 18. Anton Bresler, 19. Jacques Botes, 20. Conrad Hoffmann, 21. Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 22. Lwazi Mvovo.
