The Sharks have qualified for the Super Rugby play-offs at the expense of the Stormers. The visitors beat the Cape side 12-9, with tries from Rhyno Smith and Lukhanyo Am, to extend their season and put an end to that of the Stormers. With both the Stormers and the Sharks fighting for their seasons, there was nothing to separate the two sides.
Rhyno Smith went coast to coast from an intercept to give the Durbanites a narrow lead, which was taken away by the boot of Josh Stander. The match was on a knife edge going into the final minutes.
Illegal scrummaging by the Sharks saw the Stormers extend their slight advantage, this time through Jean-Luc du Plessis. With the 80 minutes up on the clock, the Sharks threw everything at the homeside, Lukhanyo Am wrong footed the defence and scored the try to send the Durban side into the quarter-finals 12-9 to the Sharks, the final score.
The Jaguares secured second spot on the overall log with a 52-10 trouncing of the hapless Sunwolves. The Jaguares will host a quarter-final next weekend and they certainly look like a formidable prospect for any side that has to travel to Buenos Aires. While the Sunwolves stood their ground in the first half, in the second 40 minutes the floodgates opened as the Jaguares consigned the bottom of the log Japan-based team to their 14th loss of the season.
