Sharks too fierce for brave Harlequins

Harlequins 19 Natal Sharks 3

Harlequins should play their 'wannabes' more often. They certainly did their elders and betters proud as they gave the Natal Sharks a run for their money at the Stoop last night.

No matter that the South Africans were comfortable winners in the end, they knew they had been in a match.

The difference in personnel between the two sides was marked. Quins were without a flotilla of first-choice players, chiefly through injury, although there were international absentees as well.

But when you swim with Sharks you have to expect to get bitten, and this Natal side certainly possessed teeth, in the person of some 10 internationals. Oddly, though their opening score was not a dashing, touchline run from one of their Test backs, but rather a simple drop goal from Stefan Terblanche in the ninth minute.

Indeed it was left to Quins to provide the first moment of inspiration. Quins' South African captain Andre Vos fed the ball at pace to the hooker Tani Fuga. Thinking like a halfback, Fuga chipped over the defence and the alert flanker Luke Sherriff pounced and scored under the posts.

That jolted the South Africans, for whom this was a warm-up for the Super 12 season, and they began to take this match and Quins a damn sight more seriously.

Suddenly the home side found themselves under relentless pressure, but Quins then hit the Sharks close to half time. Jewell took a quick throw and Williams raced fully 60 metres to dive triumphantly over the line, and promptly converted his solo try.

More great work from the home forwards, with tighthead Jon Dawson making major in-roads up the middle, saw Williams latch on to centre Andy Reay's pass for his second try after the interval.

But Sharks countered promptly, finally using the width. Terblanche went over in the corner. Six minutes later Butch James went over after a messy ruck and more heavyweight work up front saw the Sharks finally regain the lead when hooker Lukas van Biljon barrelled through. Terblanche converted, and Ricardo Loubscher scored a further try in the 80th minute.

Harlequins: Tries Sherriff, Williams 2; Conversions Williams 2. Natal Sharks: Tries Terblanche, James, van Biljon, Loubscher; Conversions Terblanche, Kruger; DG Terblanche.

Harlequins: N Williams; M Moore, H Barratt, A Reay, R Jewell; D Slemen (S Fitzgerald, 72), S Bemand (M Powell, h-t); B Starr (P Cardinali, 53), T Fuga (J Hayter, h-t), J Dawson, K Rudzki, S Miall (D Griffin, 70), A Vos (capt) (K Horstmann, 59), J Evans, L Sherriff (A Mockford 77).

Natal Sharks: R Loubscher; D Kayser (J Swart 68), A Snyman (R Keil, 73), B James (H Kruger, 73), S Terblanche; B Russell (T Halstead, 54), N Powell (R Walker 47); E Coetzee (BJ Botha 80), L van Biljon (G Botha, 73), D Carstens, A J Venter (capt), A van den Berg, L Watson, S Sowerby (B McLeod-Henderson, 67), C Van Rensburg.

Referee: R Debney (Leicestershire)