News24.com | Durban disaster! Sharks throw away Champions Cup spot in woeful Munster draw

Antoine Frisch of Munster attempts to tackle Siya Kolisi of the Sharks. (Photo by Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)

The Sharks blew a 19-point lead to draw 22-22 with Munster at Kings Park, a result that has not only consigned them to a deadly trip to Dublin to face Leinster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-finals but cost them their Champions Cup participation next season.

European Professional Club Rugby rules dictate that the four URC Shield winners progress into the Champions Cup plus the next best four. By virtue of 11^th-placed Cardiff winning the Welsh Shield, the eight-placed Sharks will now miss out on the competition.

Although their qualification for the URC last eight was confirmed before kick-off after the Stormers defeated Benetton on Friday night, the Sharks had a chance to push Connacht for seventh place ahead of their match with Glasgow later on Saturday evening.

RECAP | Sharks v Munster

But director of rugby Neil Powell’s men ran out of puff completely in the second half, casting a pall on a Sharks season that has slowly disintegrated.

Matters were made worse when their captain and fulcrum Springbok captain Siya Kolisi left the field with a knee injury, the severity of which is still unknown.

After three minutes, South Africa held its collective breath when Kolisi went down clutching his right knee after hyperextending his leg in a tackle near the try line.

The flanker was strapped up and carried on for a few minutes, a hint that the damage wasn’t as serious as feared.

But it was a red herring because, not long after, Kolisi limped off the field, replaced by Phepsi Buthelezi in what seemed like a sensible substitution with the Rugby World Cup defence in mind.

In the sixth minute, Bok hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored his third try against Munster in the same month after scoring twice in their 50-35 triumph in the Champions Cup. It was a trademark Mbonambi opportunistic peel from a maul that broke the ice.

The Kolisi injury seemed to tilt the scales towards a more even contest after the Sharks started like break dancers at a music festival.

The visitors got onto the scoreboard through young flyhalf Jack Crowley but they gained some ascendancy at the breakdown, pilfering freely, knowing there was no Bok blindsider to wipe them out.

Former All Black centre Malakai Fekitoa was also a nuisance and almost put his tighthead Stephen Archer through for their first try but the bulky front-rower would have needed a million Pilates classes to stretch for the ankle-low pass and score.

There was another tip in the scales when Munster went down to 14 men after wing Shane Daly impeded Curwin Bosch in mid-air and the hosts used the man advantage to score their second try through wing Werner Kok.

Just as the Sharks thought they could put their foot down again, they lost their No 10 Bosch, who also walked off in considerable pain before half-time. It meant Aphelele Fassi returned from injury into fullback and Boeta Chamberlain shifted to flyhalf.

That setback didn’t hamper the Sharks from netting their third try of the half, profiting from another attacking lineout drive, with Mbonambi feeding No 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe for the score.

Munster got back into the game when, at the start of the second half, they were awarded a penalty try after Fassi intercepted a pass, a move that referee Mike Adamson deemed prevented a try-scoring opportunity.

Discipline seemed abandoned by both teams, who were down to 14-a-side when Fassi saw yellow, as did Munster skipper Peter O'Mahoney for escalating a touchline scuffle.

The Sharks held complete sway in the scrums but, somehow, could not make it count on the scoreboard. Instead, Munster scored another try through right wing Calvin Nash.

Then, with 15 minutes left, veteran Ireland scrumhalf Conor Murray scored the visitors’ third try, using his experience and smarts to get the Munster comeback going. It was 22-22, a dramatic about turn for a Sharks side that led 22-3 at the start of the second half.

Munster held on for the draw and could have snatched victory were they not held up over the line after the final hooter.

Scorers

Sharks 22 (19)

Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Werner Kok, Sikhumbuzo Notshe

Conversions: Curwin Bosch, Boeta Chamberlain

Penalties: Boeta Chamberlain

Munster 22 (3)

Tries: Penalty try, Calvin Nash, Conor Murray

Conversions: Ben Healy

Penalties: Jack Crowley