Cardiff v Sharks: Five takeaways as Bongi Mbonambi and tight five ‘turn the screw’ as young Wales prospect destined for ‘bright future’
Following a 42-22 win for the Sharks against Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship (URC), here’s our five takeaways from the game at the Arms Park.
The top line
The Sharks overpowered their Welsh hosts in a six-try win as Bongi Mbonambi (2), Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Francois Venter and Yaw Penxe went over.
Jordan Hendrikse converted all of those crossings in an impressive away result that takes the Sharks up to fourth in the standings, overtaking Cardiff in the process.
While it appears a heavy defeat on paper, Cardiff can still take plenty from their performance. However, they were beaten up physically and it ultimately cost them.
Bongi Mbonambi bounced back
It’s fair to say Mbonambi didn’t have his best showings against Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles in the recent Champions Cup matches but he responded well tonight.
With Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth both absent from the squad due to rest and injury respectively, the front-row needed to lead by example and certainly did that.
He scored two tries in the victory and was a key cog in a dominant Sharks scrum as the South Africans bounced back from a difficult couple of weeks of results.
Teenager Tom Bowen impresses
What a bright future this 19-year-old flyer has in the game. He caused the Sharks all kinds of problems on the night as his fleet-footedness cut through their defence at will. He finished with an impressive two tries, ten carries, nine defenders beaten and four clean breaks on his way to 107 metres. An incredible effort.
There is no doubt that Bowen will put bums on seats at the Arms Park for many years to come and he also seems destined to progress to a Wales cap in the future. He has similarities to Argentina speedster Mateo Carreras but it’s clear Bowen has the confidence to make his own path and the plaudits are well deserved.
Sharks scrum flex its muscles
No Ox Nche, no problem for this Sharks unit as they still possess incredible power up front as they duly turned the screw against their much younger Cardiff opponents.
Ntuthuko Mchunu, Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane enjoyed their evening’s work at scrum time and they will be the first to also credit those behind them as they found plenty of joy in this area of the match. Cardiff just could not match their weight, technique and experience as the Sharks were utterly dominant at scrum time.
URC title charge very much on
While their exploits in the Champions Cup were ended, the Durbanites are still in action in Europe due to falling into the Challenge Cup, a trophy they won last season.
While they claimed that silverware last year, their title charge was very much an eggs in one basket approach because of their plight in the United Rugby Championship.
Things are different in 2024/25 though as the Sharks already boast two more wins than the whole of last campaign and are right in the mix for the battle to finish second.
With all their Springboks fully fit and the depth they’ve developed over the past 12 months, they look well equipped to make a genuine push for the URC this time around.
