Sharks rally late to slay Dragons after another narrow escape in Europe

The Sharks won’t want to make a habit of it but they won another narrow nail-biter on their European tour when they beat the Dragons in Newport 20-19 on Saturday.

The United Rugby Championship (URC) promised a fresh clash of styles between former Celtic League teams and former Super Rugby South African franchises.

But this match was like watching two South African teams tear lumps out of each other on the highveld without realising there’s an oval ball in the middle to utilise.

The clash at Rodney Parade came a week after the Sharks held on to beat Zebre Parma in Parma in Italy last week, who almost overturned a 28-3 deficit but the South Africans held on to win 42-37.

This time it was the other way around; the Sharks were behind and outplayed for three quarters of this match but made away with a smash-and-grab thanks to two late Grant Williams and Thaakir Abrahams tries.

AS IT HAPPENED | URC: Dragons v Sharks

The Sharks were cheered on by their countrymen, the Lions, who beat Cardiff on Friday night, in the stands while head coach Wayne Pivac and his assistant Stephen Jones kept an eye on the Wales national team interests.

Springbok loosehead Ntuthuko Mchunu struggled in the scrums early on after helping the Sharks win a couple to start.

It was all symptomatic of the lack of continuity the Sharks lacked in the first half-hour when they lost the ball or got turned over every time they threatened the Dragons line.

Their hosts, however, were composed in their defence and made life hellish at the breakdown for the Durbanites.

The game had attrition written all over it. And there was a considerable period when both teams would rather leather it long than spread it wide.

The Dragons won the aerial contest, too, and sniffed the try line