The Hollywoodbets Sharks followed up their statement win over Lyon last weekend in France in a different competition with an emphatic 36-21 Vodacom URC win over Cardiff at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday night to further confirm their upward trend on the performance graph.
The Sharks, who led 17-7 at halftime, scored six tries to bank a full house of five log points for the win and will take significant momentum into their final tour game against Munster in Limerick next weekend. More significantly, although they started with a stronger team than the one that did the business in Lyon in the EPCR Challenge Cup six days ago, they won the game at a venue where the hosts hardly ever lose, with some severe disruptions to their run-on team.
The Sharks stun Cardiff in their own backyard 🦈💥 #VURC | #SSRugby https://t.co/yR53fFulfL
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 23, 2026
While it was a great night for the Sharks, it wasn’t so good for South African rugby as a whole, as the sight of Sharks skipper Andre Esterhuizen watching from the sidelines wearing a moon boot should not have pleased Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus. The Boks begin the away leg of their Nations Championship campaign in Italy two weeks from now, and it looks highly unlikely that Esterhuizen will be with them.
QUESTIONS OVER 4G SURFACE
Esterhuizen fell awkwardly as he jostled for the ball almost straight from the kick-off, and it almost appeared that he fell over his feet. It looked like he might have had his studs caught in the 4G surface, which is becoming a bit of a talking point, in a negative sense, in the northern hemisphere after Wales winger Louis Rees-Zammit made public his aversion to it last week.
It was in the same week that his Bristol Bears coach Pat Lam had rested key players in a game played on a 4G surface because he didn’t want to risk them being injured. Regardless of the reasons for the injury, it will be a concern to both Erasmus and the Sharks, as Esterhuizen has become an influential player for both.
The concerns of Erasmus and the Sharks might have been partially allayed by seeing Ethan Hooker, who started on the wing, slotting seamlessly in at centre alongside the impressive Jurenzo Julius. However, Julius did not reappear for the second half, and it should be assumed he is injured, as his incisive presence in the midfield was sorely missed after halftime.
Indeed, the Sharks had to significantly rejig their backline in the second half, with Giani Lombard moving from flyhalf to fullback and Siya Masuku taking up the pivot role. In the third quarter, it appeared that the Sharks had lost a bit of their cohesion, while Cardiff had started to gain an edge as they dominated both territory and possession.
FRACAS SEEMED TO SPARK THE VISITORS
Their flanker James Botham scored two tries in the time that the Sharks appeared to have lost their impetus, and that saw the 10-point Sharks lead at halftime overhauled as Cardiff went three points ahead heading towards the last quarter. At that stage, Cardiff had all the momentum, and it didn’t look good for the Sharks.
However, a fracas immediately after Botham scored his second try, involving Sharks lock Stephan Lewies and Cardiff flank Alex Mann, with other players piling in, seemed to galvanise the Sharks. Suddenly they got the bit between their teeth; man of the match Zekhethelo Siyaya put in an impressive chase in following a high kick, and a period of patient, sustained attack then followed before Bok tighthead powered over to regain his team a three-point lead with the Lombard conversion and with 19 minutes to go.
The Sharks suddenly became hard to stop as their forwards in particular took control, almost as if whatever happened to spark the earlier fracas was driving them. After being under the cosh before that in the territory and possession battle, referring specifically to the second half, they were suddenly camped in Cardiff territory.
CARDIFF LOST DISCIPLINE UNDER PRESSURE
Cardiff didn’t help themselves by giving away a series of penalties under pressure and when replacement hooker Ethan Bester made the pressure count on the scoreboard by driving over the line as the clock ticked onto 74 minutes, that five pointer and Masuku’s conversion effectively ensured that the Sharks were going to become only the second URC team to win in Cardiff since the start of last season.
Matt Romao 😮💨💨 He closes out the show with a brace in Cardiff 🦈 #VURC | #SSRugby https://t.co/wVpcvCRIbX
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 23, 2026
Just for good measure, Matt Ramao, a young loose-forward who looks more impressive with every game he plays, dropped in for his second try to make it a comprehensive 15-point win.
The Sharks effectively ended the game in the same impressive vein that they played much of the first half, with Siyaya popping into the line and Julius exploiting the space created before putting in a delightful offload that sent Hooker in at the corner to make it 5-0 after just two minutes of play.
Cardiff struck back with a good try to wing Josh Adams that was created by fullback Cam Winnett, but it was mostly all the Sharks in the first half, and tries from Ramao, his first, and lock Jason Jenkins gave them a 10-point lead at the halfway point that was no less than they deserved.
Siyaya ➡️ Julius ➡️ Hooker The Sharks youngsters get a fast start in Cardiff 🦈💥 📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw https://t.co/3a82sxhsqM
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 23, 2026
There were several outstanding contributors other than the names mentioned, and the Sharks will leave Cardiff in a good place as they begin their preparations for Munster. They will, though, be concerned over the injuries to Esterhuizen and Julius.
SCORES
Hollywoodbets Sharks 36 - Tries: Ethan Hooker, Matt Ramao 2, Jason Jenkins, Thomas du Toit and Ethan Bester; Conversions: Gianni Lombard 2 and Siya Masuku.
Cardiff 21 - Tries: Josh Adams and James Botham 2; Conversions: Jarrod Evans 3.