Sharks defeat Toulouse

Editor

The Sharks backed up their pre-season win over Toulon by defeating Toulouse 31-17 on Thursday at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Garth April, the Sharks fly-half, was the star of the show as he finished with 21 points.

Toulouse were without several of their top players due to Six Nations call-ups, fielding a mixture of youngsters and former international players in Luke McAlister, Corey Flynn and Gurthrö Steenkamp.

In the end they were outscored by the Sharks by three tries to two, with S'bura Sithole, April and Johan Deysel crossing for Gary Gold's side.

Flynn and Alexis Palisson were the two try scorers for Toulouse, as the Sharks claimed another big scalp ahead of the new season.

The scorers:

For Toulouse:

Tries: Palisson, Flynn
Cons: Mélé, Bouyxou
Pen: Mélé

For Sharks:

Tries: Sithole, April, Deysel
Cons: April 2
Pens: April 4

The teams:

Toulouse: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Timoci Matanavou, 13 Arthur Bonneval, 12 Jarrod Poï, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 David Mélé, 8 Gregory Lamboley, 7 Gillian Galan, 6 François Cros, 5 Edwin Maka, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements: Kakovin, Tolofua, Marchand, Aldegheri, Tialata, Tekori, Manukula, Harinordoquy, Tuinukuafe, Tebaldini, Bouyxou, Tolofua, Bienvenu, Rauga, Kunatani, Billard

Sharks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Wandile Mjekevu , 13 Heimar Williams, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 S’bura Sithole, 10 Garth April, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Christiaan de Bruin, 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Dave McDuling, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Juan Schoeman
Replacements:
 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Gerhard Engelbrecht, 18 Daniel du Preez, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Cobus Reinach, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 André Esterhuizen, 23 Paul Jordaan, 24 Odwa Ndungane, 25 Joe Pietersen