In the fifth minute of injury time, the Durbanites’ siege on the Dragons’s line went 14 phases before substitute centre Francois Venter surged over to snatch a 33-30 win. It was only the second time the Sharks had led in the match after they had mostly chased the game.
As full-time approached it looked like the Welshmen had done enough to secure the game but the Sharks refused to give up and kept niggling away until, at last, they were in position to win the game. And they closed it out.
The Sharks were so close to losing their second tour game in a row and that would have left fans scratching their heads and contemplating deja vu after the horrors of last season, but this is a different Sharks team. This bunch is more than a year into John Plumtree’s second tenure and they have a team culture about going the full 80 and doing justice to the jersey.
Unlike the tour opener against Connacht, the Sharks were left fast asleep in the blocks by the Dragons.
One of the Sharks’ pre-match goals was to brush up on the breakdown work that cost them the week before but they conceded two penalties in this area in the first three minutes and one of them was kicked over by Lloyd Evans.
The Durbanites’ start was lacklustre and on ten minutes it went down a level when flanker James Venter was yellow-carded for an iffy high tackle.
The penalties against the Sharks became a flood and it meant the first 17 minutes were spent on defence and eventually Taine Basham bashed over.
It was 10-0 and the Sharks had not fired a shot. They were on the back foot and needed a flash of inspiration and it came from captain Vincent Tshituka who smashed over after a penalty had been kicked to the corner.
But the home team hit right back when tighthead prop Chris Coleman went over from close quarters to make it 15-5.
On the 30-minute mark, there was a positive moment for the struggling Sharks when they won a scrum penalty only for the throw-in to be skewed from Dylan Richardson.
It got worse when scrumhalf Rhodri Williams completed a breakout from the Dragons’ 22 as half-time was about to sound.
The Sharks could not have responded better. Outside centre Jurenzo Julius fashioned a break near the halfway line and 50m later, after excellent inter-passing between Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker, Jaden Hendrikse finished under the crossbar.
That score on halftime closed the deficit to 22-12 and gave the Sharks a big lift.
Five minutes into the new half there was an even bigger boost for the visitors when Julius, playing off a big break by Esterhuizen, was first ruled to have lost the ball as he went over the line but the TMO ruled in favour of the man nicknamed The Boogeyman.
The Sharks’ comeback escalated through the roof when Jaden Hendrikse found Hooker out wide and he finished superbly to give the Sharks a 26-22 lead.
But two minutes later Jason Jenkins was sin-binned for smacking down a Dragons pass.
It was a costly infringement. The home team went to the corner and lock Ben Carter hammered over to restore the Dragons’ lead at 27-26.
It was extended by a Will Reed penalty to 30-26 with 20 minutes to go.
There were some crucial mistakes from the Sharks as they chased the game, including Siya Masuku over-cooking a kick to the corner with ten minutes to go. That was a big opportunity to win the game.
But when it mattered most, the Sharks mustered one last almighty effort to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat.
Scorers
Dragons — Tries: Taine Basham, Chris Coleman, Rhodri Williams, Ben Carter. Penalties: Lloyd Evans, Will Reed. Conversions: Evans (2).
Sharks — Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse, Jurenzo Julius, Francois Venter. Conversions: Siya Masuku (4).