Sharks bite down on European debut as Harlequins fightback falls short

Harlequins opened their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a 39-31 defeat by Sharks in a thrilling encounter on their first trip to South Africa.

The London side did manage to secure a vital bonus point for scoring four tries, but a late rally saw 14-man Sharks score a fifth try and record two vital bonus points as they took the spoils in Durban.

Sharks lost a player when prop Ox Nche was shown a red card midway through the second half for a head-on collision and Harlequins responded with two tries by centre Andre Esterhuizen.

Wing Josh Bassett crossed for his second try as Quins made it 32-31 before full-back Boeta Chamberlain crossed for the vital try for Sharks in the 79th minute to secure a famous victory.

The Sharks crossed for five tries, with hooker Bongi Mbonambi and winger Makazole Mapimpi crossing for two tries and wing Werner Kok joining full-back Chamberlain on the scoresheet.

Quins opened the scoring with an early try after five minutes by wing Bassett, who signed for the club after the demise of Wasps, was found with a superb long pass by fellow wing Cadan Murley after a lineout close to the home side’s line.

Fly-half Tommaso Allan landed the conversion to give the visitors a 7-0 lead before Sharks replied with a try of their own as international hooker Bongi Mbonambi crashed over from a driving lineout.

Curwin Bosch landed the extras to make the scores all level before he converted a penalty to give the home side a 10-7 lead and Sharks then extended their lead with a second try.

South Africa winger Mapimpi, back in Sharks colours, took advantage of some sloppy defending to cross for his first try to make it 17-7 to the home side midway through the first half. Curwin added the extras with his second conversion.

Mapimpi crossed for his second try after a dominant scrum by the Sharks five metres out from the Harlequins line saw him dance and step his way past defenders to cross the whitewash and to make it 22-7.

Quins flanker Will Evans crossed for his side’s second try after the visitors showed impressive control at a driving maul, with Allan converting to make it 22-14 at half-time.

After the break, Sharks crossed for a fourth try after wing Kok raced on to his kick-and-chase to score in the corner, securing the bonus point for the home side. Bosch landed the conversion.

Sharks then went down to 13 men, with hooker Mbonambi shown yellow for persistent infringing, and a head-on collision with Jack Walker saw prop Nche shown a red card.

Harlequins took full advantage, with centre Esterhuizen crossing for two tries, along with Bassett grabbing his brace before Chamberlain sealed the win for Sharks.