Vengeful Sharks crush Dragons to maintain URC playoff hopes

The Sharks redeemed themselves for their appalling display against Edinburgh last week with a comprehensive 51-3 thrashing of the Dragons in their United Rugby Championship clash at Kings Park on Friday.

The Sharks' eighth win out of 14 matches saw them move to 41 points and into sixth place, displacing the Stormers.

The Sharks were full value for their five points and their vast victory margin. They kept their rugby uncomplicated and uncompromising.

That ensured the visitors left Durban battered and bruised, something that was summed up when key loose forward Ross Moriarty was stretchered off in the 28th minute with a knee injury

RECAP | United Rugby Championship: Sharks 51-3 Dragons

There may have been a crowd at Kings Park, but the Sharks didn't put a premium on entertainment. Not that they cared.

It was the tries they wanted, and that's what they got through the course of the 80 minutes in the form of a half-dozen touchdowns.

There were two in the first half through Retshegofaditswe 'Ox' Nche in the 29th-minute and Bongi Mbonambi six minutes later.

It was a forward power-play of the highest order from the hosts, who dominated every scrum and won the collisions.

Nche crossed the whitewash under the poles after the Sharks continued to bash away relentlessly at the Dragon's defence.

URC log standings

Bok hooker Mbonambi rumbled over from a rolling maul as the visitors had no purchase in the physical exchanges.

Where there were no tries to reward the physical dominance, Curwin Bosch's accuracy returned to slot three penalties that maintained the pressure on the visitors.

The block then became hot for the Dragons when Werner Kok not only ran 50-odd meters to score the Sharks' third try but cut through the Dragons' defence like a hot