Dismal Sharks hammered in Durban rain as Cardiff make history

The Sharks were woeful in the Durban rain on Sunday night, going down 35-0 to Cardiff in a United Rugby Championship clash they would like to forget as soon as possible. 

FT | Sharks 0-35 Cardiff

It is the first time a Welsh side has won a URC clash in South Africa, but the few Sharks fans who had braved the elements and unfamiliar 18:10 kick-off time would not have cared much for that piece of history. 

The Sharks were rudderless, error-prone and took some rather puzzling options that left Sean Everitt and Neil Powell with head in hands numerous times in a first half that saw the visitors take a 23-0 lead into the break. 

Fullback Anthony Volmink endured a nightmarish first 40 minutes and, somehow, dropped the ball out of contact to allow Thomas Young in for Cardiff's second try. 

Before that, Cardiff had been awarded a penalty try after Marnus Potgieter stopped a realistic scoring opportunity by deliberately knocking the ball dead.

The third try was perhaps the one that hurt the South Africans most as Cardiff steamrolled the Sharks in back-to-back rolling mauls with Young getting over for his second. 

The conversion was missed, but with the scoreboard reading 28-0 with half an hour to play, the Sharks were left with no other options but to empty their bench and hope for a miracle that was never going to happen. 

The pressure from Cardiff did not relent, and when fullback Ben Thomas went over in the left corner after the Sharks defence was stretched, they had their bonus point. 

The Sharks thought they finally had a try when Francois Venter went over, but it was disallowed after the TMP deemed an infringement at the maul that led up to the score. 

It was a dismal display from the Durbanites, who stay 10th on the URC log as the