Star-studded Sharks end Glasgow Warriors' run as Springboks 'play out of skins' amid one injury concern

Smith proud of team despite narrow defeat in South Africa

Champions Glasgow saw their three-game winning run in the United Rugby Championship come to an end after a 28-24 defeat against a star-studded Sharks in Durban.

Boosted by the return of a number of Springboks, Jordan Hendrikse kicked an early penalty for Sharks before George Horne converted his own try to nudge the Warriors in front.

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Hendrikse missed another effort from the tee but quickfire scores from Siya Kolisi and Aphelele Fassi, one converted, saw Sharks move 15-7 ahead.

Horne added his second try prior to half-time but two Hendrikse penalties, the second after Glasgow’s Gregor Brown was sin-binned for a high tackle, extended Sharks’ lead to 21-12.

Sharks took further advantage when Grant Williams was quickest to a kick over the top to go over, with Hendrikse adding the extras.

George Horne tries to clear against the Sharks.George Horne tries to clear against the Sharks.
George Horne tries to clear against the Sharks. | Getty Images

But late tries from Rory Darge and Johnny Matthews, the latter converted by Adam Hastings, helped Glasgow claim two bonus points in suffering just a second defeat in nine URC matches.

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“Obviously, I’m really encouraged by the fact that we kept on playing until the end,” said head coach Smith. “That is the type of people that we work and play with and I’m really, really proud of the effort they put in.

“The two missed conversions make a big difference. We could have just as well drawn the game. I felt they [the Sharks] did well to contain us. They didn’t give us any line-outs or set-piece starts. We had three line-outs in the first half. We also didn’t get the rub of the green from the referee’s perspective. We got penalised and we didn’t get any penalties off them.

“But I think we showed in the last five minutes that if teams are going to allow us to play, then we’re really good at it. So, I have a lot to be proud of. I feel in general the whole team would have learned something from playing against top-quality players. The Springboks that we faced tonight were really good for the Sharks.

“They played out of their skins. Way better than I thought they would be because of the time away. They actually played really, really well and therefore, like our performance, it’s a good point of reference for the rest of the season.”

Siya Kolisi breaks through the Glasgow Warriors defence.Siya Kolisi breaks through the Glasgow Warriors defence.
Siya Kolisi breaks through the Glasgow Warriors defence. | Getty Images

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Glasgow Warriors will monitor the condition of prop Nathan McBeth, who came away from the match with an injury.

“Nathan McBeth has taken a bit of a bang,” added Smith. “It’s medial collateral knee ligament. There were a lot of bangs. But it was just a classic international game. You have the best players of South Africa playing the best players of Scotland and you will always have some knocks.”

Warriors are back in action next week when they take on Stormers, once again in South Africa.

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