Following a 12-3 victory over the Scarlets, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash in Durban.<\/b><\/p>\n
The top line<\/p>\n
A match played between two teams that at first seemed so hellbent on refusing to lose that they forgot to try to win the match as a woeful first half failed to produce any scores for 38 minutes.<\/p>\n
The deadlock was finally broken by\u00a0Siya Masuku\u2019s penalty, which was quickly cancelled out by a wonderful drop goal by Sam Costelow.<\/p>\n
The second half followed suit from the first as both teams struggled to find any kind of fluency on attack, with the defence bossing proceedings.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, it was the unlikely boot of Sharks<\/a> full-back Aphelele Fassi that sealed the win for the hosts, with the Springbok nailing three second-half penalties, the last of which denied the Scarlets<\/a> a losing bonus point and subjects them to a trip to Dublin for the URC<\/a> quarter-finals.<\/p>\n Shocking first half<\/p>\n Durban is renowned for being slippery underfoot, which impacts the ball too, but this was a top half of the table clash in the URC and the opening half was far more akin to two sets of 15 blokes who had never played rugby together throwing around an oversized bar of soap.<\/p>\n Fans would not be blamed for nodding off a bit during the first 40 minutes of \u201caction\u201d at Kings Park Stadium, with a play barely starting before it stopped because of a knock-on.<\/p>\n Vaea Fifita made a stunning break and looked to be en route to scoring another brilliant solo try only to be axed down superbly by Ethan Hooker. The Sharks won a turnover at the ensuing breakdown, but just as quickly as the game looked to have been gaining some sort of excitement or tempo, it quickly died down again with yet another knock-on.<\/p>\n The stats tell a sorrowful story. The Sharks made nine handling errors to the Scarlets\u2019 six in the first half, both tallies bettering the respective teams\u2019 scorelines at the break, with not even the 10 scrums, many of which were reset, failing to produce any hint of theatre. The same can be said of the 16 lineouts, while the kicks from hand tally almost hit 30, too.<\/p>\n After 38 and a half painful minutes, scoreboard operators were given something to do as Masuku lined up a shot at goal after Andre Esterhuizen won a penalty at the breakdown, gifting his fly-half an easy three points.<\/p>\n That was quickly followed by the highlight of the game to that point as Sam Costelow did his best impression of Jonny Wilkinson, lining up a drop goal on his right foot before dummying Jaden Hendrikse and shifting to his left to thunder the ball through the sticks.<\/p>\n That kick put all those watching on out of their misery for about 10 minutes as the two sides trotted off to the sheds.<\/p>\n Eben Etzebeth excellence<\/p>\n To the dismay of onlookers, it was not a game of two halves with the second following a similar script to the first, but for the Springboks and Sharks fans, the sight of Eben Etzebeth tearing up and down the pitch will fill them with glee.<\/p>\n The most-capped Springbok of all-time produced concerning scenes last week when he was carted off the pitch with what looked like a nasty injury. Instead, it was an ugly bruise courtesy of Bongi Mbonambi\u2019s cement-esque head.<\/p>\n The lock has been sorely missed from an ability and leadership point of view this season, and today it really showed as he worked tirelessly, applying pressure on the Scarlets\u2019 half-back and chased Hendrikse\u2019s and Masuku\u2019s kicks brilliantly.<\/p>\n He was effective in the lineout too, and in defence, as the Scarlets attempted to get their maul going.<\/p>\n Additionally, he was sharp and confident with his penalty calls and asked good questions of referee Andrea Piardi. There wasn\u2019t too much to be positive about the Sharks\u2019 performance, but Etzebeth\u2019s shift is the exception.<\/p>\n Sharks player ratings: \u2018Colossus\u2019 Eben Etzebeth a shining light in a \u2018bleak\u2019 showing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n