Sharks v Clermont | Match report

Sharks win Challenge Cup semi-final!

The Sharks made history at Twickenham Stoop with a nail-biter Challenge Cup semi-final 32-21 win over Clermont on Saturday.

It was left to the boot of No 10 revelation Siya Masuku to keep the Sharks within touching distance of a bustling Clermont in the first half as those Bok engines among the forwards were slow to fire.

They were challenged in the line-outs, and Slimani Rabah could even say that he had the better of Ox Nche at scrum-time, with Clermont, boasting a bit of Argentinian beef and a Fijian-born tank in flanker Yato Peceli, in playing in the faces of the Sharks and exposing their defensive channels out wide.

Trailing by 10 points going into half-time, thanks to a perfect six-out-of-six penalty conversions from Masuku, it looked like the French Top 14 outfit were going to continue bossing the pedigreed men from Durban as the Sharks conceded a penalty from the kick-off.

But it seemed a fire had been lit among the slow starters in the changerooms as the Sharks began to stand up to Clermont. As Clermont lost a man to the sin bin, the Sharks seized the day with a try from Vincent Koch, followed by a Makazole Mapimpi classic 10 minutes later, even though they too had by then lost Aphelele Fassi to a yellow card.

It was on the like a scone at Twickenham Stoop with the scoreline 32-21 with three minutes remaining. The Sharks hung on tooth and nail to win!

Suddenly a doldrum season looks a whole lot better as the Sharks once more blaze the trail for South Africa, this time in Europe.

Scorers

Sharks: 32 (18)

Tries: Vincent Koch, Makazole Mapimpi

Conversions: Siya Masuku (2)

Penalties: Masuku (6)

Clermont 31 (28)

Tries: Joris Jurand (2) Alex Newsome

Conversions: Athony Belleau (2)

Penalties: Belleau (4)