The Sharks scored seven tries to three against the Sunwolves for a 50-22 victory. It was a determined performance by the Sharks to boost their confidence ahead of their tour down under.
At half time, the Sharks led 24-3 as Makazole Mapimpi, Armand van der Merwe and Lubabalo Mthembu crossed over for the home team.
Lomano Lemeki scored the Sunwolves first try in the second half. There was good pressure from the visitors as they went wide for Lemeki to take the ball over the line.
The Sharks went on to score four more tries with Mapimpi scoring his second try for the day. Jacque Vermeulen, Sibusiso Nkosi and Cameron Wright were the other try scorers for the home team while Yutaka Nagare and Will Tupou crossed over for the Sunwolves.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Queensland Reds overcame a 14-10 halftime deficit to the Bulls to secure a 20-14 victory at the Suncorp Stadium. It was the Reds second win in as many weeks.
The Bulls scored the first try in the fifth minute with Warren Gelant crossing over. Handre Pollard slotted the conversion to hand his side a seven-nil lead.
In the 25th minute the visitors struck again with a long-range try through Andre Riaan Waner while Pollard added the extra points for a 14-3 lead. 10 minutes later, James Tuttle and Taniela Tupuo put Caleb Timu over for the Reds first try.
Aidan Toua outran a chasing Bulls’ defence in second half to cross for the Reds’ second converted try of the night. In the 76th minute, a Jono Lance penalty goal secured victory for the Reds.
Defending Champions, the Crusaders suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes overcame a hectic traveling schedule.
Before this encounter, the Wellington side had traveled to South Africa for their first match and played their second in Argentina.
The home side stunned the Crusaders with four first half tries through Chris Eves, TJ Perenara, Ben Lam and Matt Proctor.
