Staff Reporter.
Makazole Mapimpi scored the winning try at the death but Andre Esterhuizen was the difference between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Edinburgh as the Durbanites scored a crucial 18-17 win in their 15th round Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at the DAM Health Stadium.
The veteran Bok finisher scored on a bridge pass from replacement flyhalf Siya Masuku as the Sharks – who had trailed for 62 minutes of the match due to a combination of ill-discipline, poor decision-making and unforced errors – fought back to win 18-17.
Eben Etzebeth and Lukhanyo Am each spent 10 minutes in the sin bin while fullback Aphelele Fassi limped off with an ankle injury.
Edinburgh dominated the final quarter of the match and were twice held up over the tryline – by Siya Kolisi when the hosts seemed certain to score from a driving maul and again with three minutes remaining when Ethan Hooker and Mapimpi prevented replacement wing Jack Brown from dotting down after he’d collected a cross-kick.
Having survived that onslaught, the Sharks won a late penalty, kicked for touch, set up a lineout driving maul and then sent the ball wide to Mapimpi, who did the rest.
The win moved the fourth-placed Sharks to within one point of the Vodacom Bulls on the Vodacom URC log, with Jake White’s team playing Munster on Saturday.
The Sharks face Ulster in Belfast next Saturday, before returning to Durban for matches against Ospreys and Scarlets to end their league campaign.