The Hollywoodbets Sharks' poor run of form away from home continued as they were the masters of their own downfall, going down 19-5 to Welsh side Ospreys in a scrappy error-filled game at the Stoop in London on Friday night.
The game, which was the first foray for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship into England in an attempt to lure new fans, never really rose to the heights of its billing, but four first-half tries - three to the Ospreys - and a scoreless second half ensured that Toby Booth’s side would leave the field the much happier of the two.
It is clear that John Plumtree is trying to add width to the Sharks’ cause but on a coldish night it only added to their woes as his side were beaten by themselves, failing to put together meaningful phases or an attack that worried the Ospreys too much because of a plethora of handling errors and a lot of ill-discipline.
It wasn’t that the Welsh side were exceptional either, they simply made fewer mistakes on a night where both sides struggled to hold the ball despite their eagerness to play.
The Ospreys' ability to turn Sharks attacks into strike threats, and to play in the right parts of the field made their young side relish the victory even more.
The new Sharks coach has his work cut out for him, and while the Durban side will be a force when their internationals come back to play for them, right now they are struggling with touring and winning away from home.
While they were intent on trying to play a game plan they clearly seemed a bit uneasy with, they failed to take on the Ospreys up front and play a more direct approach until late in the game, and then continually hampered themselves with handling errors and turnovers.
The Sharks' 17 turnovers conceded tells a story of a team that promise so much, but on the night feared themselves more than the opposition they faced.
That malaise turned into more errors in the second half than they needed, with a number of clearance kicks sailing straight into touch from outside their 22m area, ensuring they got stuck in the wrong half of the field.
And while their scrum looked set to dominate after a strong start, the only scrum penalty went the way of the Ospreys, even though the Sharks could easily have argued for more with their hits in some of the scrums.
The fact that they scored first after just three minutes showed their intent, as they took turnover ball and simply put it through the hands, with Rohan Janse van Rensburg drawing the crucial defender to create the overlap and Phepsi Buthelezi completing a fine backline try where the ball went through more than half the side.
Yet that was to be the Sharks' only happy moment at the Stoop, with the closest they got to scoring again when Nthuthuko Mnchunu battered his way past several defenders only to lose the ball a metre from the line.
Ospreys didn’t take long after the first try to hit back, although their rolling maul try for hooker Ethan Lewis was disallowed by TMO protocol after he seemingly lost the ball over the line in a very tight call.
It didn’t worry the Ospreys, who kept up the pressure on the Sharks and assaulted their line again, battering 13 phases before sending it wide for fullback Jack Walsh to run in an easy try against a stretched defence.
It was then when a 14-point turnaround try hit the Sharks hard. Janse van Rensburg made a telling break and in trying to grubber the ball upfield, only succeeded in kicking directly into Max Nagy, who scooped the ball up and ran 60 metres to score at the other end of the field.
The Sharks midfielder was in the dog box again when he used his arm to fend off a defender, but made contact to the neck area, getting him a yellow card late in the first half. While Janse van Rensburg will be aggrieved because his hand was open and he was simply trying to fend off a player, his absence led to the third try by the Ospreys and a 19-5 halftime lead.
There was another disaster on defence as a dropped ball in the midfield was kicked through and while it seemed that Aphelele Fassi had it covered, in trying to claim the ball he knocked it back into his in-goal area, only for Keiran Williams to pounce and claim the try.
The comedy of errors gave Ospreys a big advantage at the break, something the Sharks never recovered from.
The second half was a scene of two eager teams trying to play rugby, but with more errors than highlights, it became a stop-start affair.
And the Sharks never got near that comeback their halftime talk wanted.
SCORERS
Ospreys - tries: Jack Walsh, Max Nagy, Keiran Williams. Conversions: Jack Walsh.
Hollywoodbet Sharks - try: Phepsi Buthelezi.