Ulster found themselves defeated against a strong Sharks team in the first match of their South African tour, marking a disappointing debut for interim coach Richie Murphy. Despite the severity of Durban’s humidity impeding the intensity of the game, the Sharks managed to secure their second victory in the URC campaign. However, they were unsuccessful in obtaining a bonus point against Ulster, who showed fortitude throughout.
Ulster saw two of their players, including captain Iain Henderson, sent to the bin by referee Ben Whitehouse late in the second half, leaving them with only 13 players. This also befell the Sharks, who were one man down following Vincent Tshituka’s 10-minute suspension.
Ulster saw tries from Harry Sheridan and Kieran Treadwell, although a controversy sparked over Treadwell’s try as both the referee and TMO overlooked an illegal hand in the ruck. Inching towards the 20-minute mark, the deadlock was finally broken as Ulster drove towards the goal from a corner penalty and Harry Sheridan powered through to give Ulster a well-deserved lead after John Cooney’s conversion.
The Sharks were not to be outdone; they capitalized on a mistake by Ulster after Tom Stewart fumbled a ball in the Sharks’ zone. It was swiftly recovered by Aphelele Fassi, who sent the ball upfield, where it was collected and taken over the line by Phepsi Buthelezi. The conversion by Siya Masuku equalised the score.
Despite the Sharks increasing their effort, they were unable to score once more even though they had an offensive lineout in Ulster’s 22 zone which was not successful, and a five-metre scrum, which ended in Hanro Jacobs fumbling a carry near the line. Ulster was lucky to reach halftime with a 7-7 scoreline, they however went on to lose Billy Burns, their outhalf player destined for Munster, to an arm injury just a minute after the second half began, and Nathan Doak substituted in at 10.
Eduan Keyter managed to score a goal just five minutes in, by kicking on Makazole Mapimpi’s grubber under his body’s pressure. Another excellent conversion was then nailed by Masuku. Masuku also scored a penalty at the 53rd minute, just as the Sharks were substituting Ox Nche and Vincent Koch to seriously increase the stakes at the set-piece.
Three minutes afterwards, Ulster was back in the game when Kieran Treadwell grabbed a loose ball and overpowered the opposition. With the referee and the TMO reviewing several replays, they failed to notice Sheridan’s hand nudging the ball into open play and the score remained. The missed conversion by Cooney allowed the Sharks to maintain a 17-12 lead.
Following a scuffle at the 64th minute near Ulster’s line, three players were yellow-carded by Whitehouse: Henderson for a high tackle and Hume for the retaliations, along with the Sharks’ Tshituka. The reduced team numbers of 13 against 14 led the Sharks to drive for the corner, and their molling tactic allowed Bongi Mbonambi to score an unconverted but crucial try.
However, with both teams back to their full complement, a last-ditch tackle by Scott Wilson on Tshituka helped Ulster to deny the Sharks the full points. In the Sharks line-up was A Fassi, E Keyter, L Am (captain), E Hooker, M Mapimpi, S Masuku, J Hendrikse, N Mchunu, B Mbonambi, H Jacobs, E Etzebeth, G Grobler, P Buthelezi, V Tshituka, and G Cronje.
The substitutions are as follows: J Labuschagne came on for Cronje at 1 minute, with O Nche and V Koch swapping out for Mchunu and Jacobs at 52 minutes. At 59 minutes, C Rahl replaced Etzebeth, and at 70 minutes, Hooker and Mbonambi made way for K van Vuuren and F Venter. C Wright and C Bosch were unused substitutes. Tshituka received a yellow card at 64 minutes.
The ULSTER team included W Addison, E McIlroy, J Hume, S McCloskey, M Lowry, B Burns, J Cooney, S Kitshoff, T Stewart, T O’Toole, K Treadwell, I Henderson (captain), H Sheridan, D McCann, N Timoney. Substitutes included N Doak, who replaced Burns at 41 minutes, S Reffell and A Warwick for Timoney and Kitshoff at 50 minutes, Matty Rea for Sheridan at 61 minutes, S Wilson for O’Toole at 63 minutes, J Andrew for Stewart at 64 minutes, J Postlethwaite for Addison at 72 minutes and finally, C Izuchukwu for Treadwell at 75 minutes. Both Henderson and Hume received yellow cards at 64 minutes. The referee for the game was B Whitehouse from WRU.