Sharks cling on for rare Loftus win after both teams suffer red cards in thriller

The salubrious presence of expectant fans spotted sparsely around the Loftus west stand gave the match the real feel of importance it warranted.

Even if it was a trickle, their presence, flags waving and selfies flashing, warmed up the place - the sound of Nkalakatha by Mandoza blaring out of the stadium speakers to appreciative ears.

AS IT HAPPENED | Sharks 29-22 Bulls

The thrilling encounter was the least they deserved for gracing the famous Pretoria ground with their longed-for presence.

Both teams played the last 19 minutes with 14 men, but the Bulls had to toil the longest with a man disadvantage after Morne Steyn was red-carded for a high, late tackle on Lukhanyo Am that the officials deemed dangerous and without mitigation for a lighter sentence 10 minutes in.

Barely a minute after the sending off, Sharks flank Henco Venter drilled through wing Madosh Tambwe, who filled in the No 10 channel where Steyn would have been, to score the first try.

The Sharks had looked like they might take the points before Steyn was ejected, but they went for the touchline as soon as they got a man advantage.

For the following 15 or so minutes, the Bulls somehow summoned up some impetus and camped inside the Sharks 22m area but left without recompense.

They spurned kickable penalties for lineout drives and tap-and-goes, which were both unsuccessful.

It was interesting to see how the flyhalf's dismissal affected even the Bulls scrum, an area where they had the ascendancy in the opening exchanges.

Soon after weathering the Bulls storm, hooker Bongi Mbonambi peeled away from a maul drive to score the Sharks second try.

But the Bulls finally got some reward when wing Cornal Hendricks finished well in the corner after the Sharks were also down to 14