Challenge Cup final result: Sharks smash Gloucester to make Euro cup rugby history

The Sharks mixed forward power and skill at the back to outplay Gloucester in Friday’s Challenge Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London to become South Africa’s first winner of a major European cup trophy.

With their scrum dominating the set-pieces and Grant Williams and Siya Masuku pulling the strings at the back, the Sharks proved far too good for their English opponents, winning 36-22 after a thrilling 80 minutes.

The victory now also ensures the Sharks of a place in next season’s top-tier Champions Cup competition.

Following a poor season in the United Rugby Championship which has seen the men from Durban win only four times in 17 matches, this triumph will bring plenty of joy and satisfaction to coach John Plumtree, the players and union.

Poor start by Sharks

It didn’t start at all well though for the men from Durban and if truth be told, fullback Aphelele Fassi should have probably seen red as early as the second minute when he took out a Gloucester player in the air from a high kick.

Also, Gloucester got on a bit of a roll in the early exchanges and piled plenty of pressure on the Sharks, winning several penalties and having several goes at the line, but some excellent defence and Gloucester’s inability to finish off saw the Sharks escape the onslaught unscathed.

Fassi though did eventually get binned, for being off sides, and then from the first scrum a few minutes later the Sharks won a penalty and the momentum shifted towards the Durbanites. They quickly won a second scrum penalty, this time on Gloucester ball, and would win two more scrum penalties in the half before the 40 minutes were up.

Sharks flyhalf Masuku got his team on the board in the 15th minute with a penalty before Gloucester replied with one of their own, and then Phepsi Buthelezi scored a try after a stunning solo run, with Masuku adding the extras. The Sharks No 10 would slot two more penalties before the break to give the Sharks a 16-3 lead at the break.

Second half dominance

While Gloucester changed their front row at the start of the second half and won a penalty at the first scrum, they’d be penalised at the second scrum (and on a good few more occasions in the half), allowing Masuku to kick another penalty and put the Sharks 19-3 up. He’d slot a fifth penalty minutes later to help his team into a 22-3 lead.

And then, from the restart, the Sharks regathered the ball, put it through the hands and phases and after some quality inter-play between backs and forwards Fassi dived over for a second Sharks try, Masuku converting it to give the South Africans a commanding lead.

Gloucester though continued to fight hard and replacement forward Albert Tuisue powered over from a 5m lineout win, with Adam Hastings slotting the conversion.

But the “Cherry and Whites” had hardly finished celebrating and the Sharks cancelled out their try when Makazole Mapimpi collected a pin-point cross-field kick by Masuku to go in for his team’s third try, the flyhalf adding the extras.

Gloucester scored two late tries to significantly close the gap on the Sharks, but by that stage the games had opened up and there was little chance of the Plumtree’s team surrendering their lead.