Hendrikse sublime, Phepsi purring and Curwin accurate as Sharks cull Lions in wet Durban

In almost a reminder of who the older sibling was, Jaden Hendrikse put on a classical performance against his brother Jordan as the Sharks beat the Lions 34-3 at Kings Park on Saturday.

The scrumhalf ran the show in difficult rainy conditions in the United Rugby Champion (URC), never allowing the home side to slip behind in their attacking endeavour.

He got them onto the front foot straight away, putting passes and kicks that almost put the Lions' challenge on the ropes as early as 10 minutes in.

AS IT HAPPENED | URC: Sharks vs Lions

The hosts went ahead first through a well-setup Gerbrandt Grobler score within the first 10 minutes. The No 4 was teed up nicely by Jaden Hendrikse's pop pass after wing Makazole Mapimpi took the close in the first phase attack.

In the process, Jannie du Plessis was yellow-carded for a needless off-the-ball cynical shoulder charge on lock Reniel Hugo.

In the 11th minute, Jaden Hendrikse did his magic tricks again when he dinked a ball over the Lions' line with his weaker foot, which Marius Louw cupped beautifully before feeding Phepsi Buthelezi for their second try.

Buthelezi was another star Sharks performer for the Durbanites.

The loose-forward academy product carried with authority, breaking numerous tackles at times and got close to finishing the game with two scores on his own.

Flyhalfs Curwin Bosch and Jordan Hendrikse traded penalties after the Sharks' blistering start as the match simmered down in tempo, mirroring the moist and heavy-footed conditions.

Curwin continued putting the Lions at arm's length with an early second-half penalty as the Sharks got close again with Henco Venter, who was held up over the line.

Turnovers were all the rage and scrums went this way then that, then collapsed in