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Sharks stumble their way to victory

Cape Town - The Sharks escaped with a narrow victory against a 14-man Highlanders side in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash in Dunedin on Friday.

As it happened: Highlanders v Sharks

The Sharks won 15-14 after leading 6-3 at half-time.

The Highlanders were reduced to 14 men after centre Jason Emery was shown a red card after a horror mid-air collision with Sharks fullback Willie le Roux in the 13th minute.

The Sharks appeared insistent on doing their level best to make life difficult for themselves - and their supporters - when they were reduced to 14 men on two occasions after lock Stephan Lewies and centre JP Pietersen were both shown yellow cards.

The Sharks failed to score a try despite their numerical advantage and had to rely on the boot of flyhalf Garth April who landed five penalties.

The Highlanders replied with a try by wing Matt Faddes and three penalties by flyhalf Lima Sopoaga.

The Sharks picked up four points for their victory, while the Highlanders picked up a single point for losing by seven or fewer points.

In next weekend's Round 10 action, the Sharks travel to Yarrow Stadium to face the Chiefs (Friday, April 29 at 09:35), while the Highlanders host the Brumbies at Rugby Park in Invercargill (Saturday, April 30 at 09:35).

Teams:

Highlanders

15. Ben Smith (co-captain), 14. Matt Faddes, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 12. Jason Emery, 11. Jack Wilson, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Liam Squire, 7. Shane Christie (co-captain), 6. Elliot Dixon, 5. Joe Wheeler, 4. Tom Franklin, 3. Josh Hohneck, 2. Ash Dixon, 1. Daniel Lienert-Brown

Substitutes: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Craig Millar, 18. Ross Geldenhuys, 19. Alex Ainley, 20. Dan Pryor, 21. Fumiaki Tanaka, 22. Hayden Parker, 23. Patrick Osborne

Sharks

15. Willie le Roux, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. JP Pietersen, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Garth April, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Jean-Luc du Preez, 6. Keegan Daniel, 5. Stephan Lewies, 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 3. Coenie Oosthuizen, 2. Franco Marais, 1. Tendai Mtawarira (captain)

Substitutes: 16. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17. Thomas du Toit, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Hyron Andrews, 20. Jean Deysel, 21. Michael Claassens, 22. Joe Pietersen, 23. S’bura Sithole

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