URC: Sharks fall to another defeat against Ospreys in London

URC: Sharks fall to another defeat against Ospreys in London

The Sharks continued to struggle on their overseas tour as they fell to a 19-5 defeat United Rugby Championship defeat against Ospreys at the Stoop.

The Sharks made a number of unforced errors on the way to their third consecutive defeat as Ospreys recorded a deserved victory,

Jack Walsh, Max Nagy and Keiran Williams scored the Welsh outfit's tries with Walsh adding two conversions.

A try from Phepsi Buthelezi gave Sharks a third-minute lead after the home defence was exploited in the wide channels, but that was as good as it got for the Durban side.

Ospreys™ response was impressive as they built up a sustained period of pressure but it was not immediately rewarded, with TMO replays ruling out a try for Ethan Lewis as the hooker lost possession before grounding.

It mattered little as the Welsh region continued to pen Sharks in their own 22 and they drew level when Walsh darted through a gap to race over.

Ospreys suffered an injury blow when fly-half Owen Williams was forced to leave the field to be replaced by Max Nagy but they overcame this setback to take the lead.

Sharks centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg ripped the defence apart with a clean break but instead of passing, he kicked and it was charged down by Nagy, who raced an unopposed 55 metres.

Van Rensburg™s night became worse when he was yellow-carded for leading with his forearm to catch Harri Deaves in the face.

He was immediately punished when, with Sharks at 14 men, Aphiwe Dyantyi failed to deal with a ball in goal and Keiran Williams was on hand to touch down and give his side a 19-5 interval lead.

Eight minutes after the restart, Van Rensburg returned but despite having the better of possession and territory, his side could not make it count as the second half remained scoreless.

Walsh was off target with a 30-metre penalty but it made no difference as Sharks never looked like clawing back the deficit.

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