Sharks see red as British & Irish Lions thump men from Durban – in Pretoria

The Sharks put in a vastly improved performance in their second clash against the British & Irish Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

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However, a red card early in the second half put paid to any chances the men from Durban had of pulling off an upset win.

The scores were dead-locked at 26-all at half-time, but a shocking elbow to the head by Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse left referee Wayne Barnes with no choice but to give him his marching orders.

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In the end the tourists ran out comfortable 71-31 winners having thumped the self-same Sharks 54-7 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last Wednesday.

The British & Irish Lions scored 11 tries to the five registered by the Sharks.

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The British & Irish Lions are due to play a South Africa ‘A’ side at the Cape Town Stadium in their next match on Wednesday, 14 July but that appears to no longer be the case with SA Rugby expected to make a formal announcement on Sunday.

In another The South African website EXCLUSIVE, a source confirmed that as many as 20 people inside the Springboks’ supposedly secure ‘bio-bubble’ have tested positive for Covid-19.

SCORERS:

Sharks

Tries: Anthony Volmink (2), Thaakir Abrahams, Jaden Hendrikse, Werner Kok

Conversions: Lionel Cronje (3)

British & Irish Lions

Tries: Chris Harris, Jamie George (2), Duhan van der Merwe, Tadhg Beirne (2), Jack Conan, Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson (2), Tom Curry

Conversions: Dan Biggar (8)

TEAMS:

Sharks

15 Anthony Volmink, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Werner Kok, 12 Murray Koster, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Jaden Hendrikse; 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Mpilo Gumede, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu 

Substitutes: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Thembelani Bholi, 20 Jeandre Labuschagne, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Jeremy Ward

British & Irish Lions

15 Liam Williams, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Chris Harris, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies; 8 Jack Conan, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Rory Sutherland 

Substitutes: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Tom Curry, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Bundee Aki