The Sharks were put to the sword by Bordeaux in their Champions Cup clash on Sunday, losing 66-12 as the infallible Damian Penaud ran in six tries.
The Sharks showed early intent with two tries in seven minutes. First, a solid lineout maul resulted in a dangerous ball of the back, which went through the hands and Siya Masuku glided over the whitewash from a few metres out. Then, a midfield break from prop Trevor Nyakane of all people eventually resulted in fullback Hakeem Kunene diving over in the corner.
Not to be outdone, Bordeaux struck back twice in quick succession via French international Damian Penaud. Enterprising backline play saw him dot down in the corner, then the fullback pinched a loose pass infield from Sharks winger Yaw Penxe and went over untouched and under the poles.
Penaud then picked up his hat-trick on the stroke of halftime. Camped on the Sharks’ line, the fullback made the most of a scrappy attack to twist and turn his way over the line. Matthieu Jalibertadde the extras to make the score 19-12.
The hosts then opened the scoring in the second stanza. A deep kick into space from scrumhalf Maxime Lucu took a wicked bounce straight into the ever-present Penaud’s hands who ran a line then found Lucu in support, who scampered away.
From there, the floodgates began to open for Bordeaux, with tries from replacement Ugo Boniface and centre Yoram Moefana taking the match away from the Sharks, the scoreline reading 40-12.
The elusive Penaud added tries four, five and six to his incredible tally as the Sharks’ defence and attitude wavered in the final quarter of the game.
The result means the Sharks slip out of the Champions Cup but secure a Challenge Cup berth for next season.
