Springboks superstars spark Sharks' stunning fightback over ...

The Sharks are through to this year’s Challenge Cup final after claiming a 32-31 win over Clermont Auvergne in a hard-fought clash at the Stoop on Saturday.

Clermont will be wondering how they lost this match as they had the upper hand for long periods and were on course for victory early in the second half when they held a 13-point lead.

However, late converted tries from Springboks stars Vincent Koch and Makazole Mapimpi secured a stunning comeback win for the Durban-based outfit.

Apart from Koch and Mapimpi‘s tries, Siya Masuku stole the show for the Sharks as he finished with a 22-point contribution after succeeding with six penalties and two conversions.

For Clermont, Joris Jurand scored a brace of tries and Alex Newsome also crossed the whitewash while Anthony Belleau added four penalties and a couple of conversions.

The Sharks will now face Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Friday, May 24.

Masuku opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when he slotted the first penalty but Clermont struck back soon after when Jurand crossed for his first five-pointer after Bautista Delguy and Peceli Yato laid the groundwork in the build-up.

The Sharks soon took the lead as Masuku kicked two penalties in quick succession before Belleau added a three-pointer of his own, which meant Clermont held a slender 10-7 lead by the 16th minute.

However, the game’s topsy-turvy nature continued when Masuku put his side back in front as he nailed another penalty before Jurand gathered a cross-field kick from Belleau on his way over the try-line again.

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Clermont grew in confidence as the match progressed but Masuku’s brilliance off the kicking tee kept his side in the match and two further penalties from the Sharks fly-half saw them regain the lead.

Despite that, the French outfit did not panic and on the half-hour mark Belleau and Julien Heriteau combined to set up Newsome for his try. Belleau added the extras and also succeeded with a couple of penalties which gave Clermont a 28-18 lead at half-time.

???? @SHARKSRUGBY ARE IN THE FINAL!!! ????

What ???? A ???? Performance ????#ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/M0q4FIz3Oj

— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) May 4, 2024

The Top 14 side continued where they left off after the interval when Belleau slotted his fourth penalty which meant the Sharks needed a response if they wanted to be victorious.

In the 51st minute, Jurand went over the try-line again but he was denied a hat-trick when television replays revealed a knock-on from him while crossing the whitewash.

That proved a crucial moment as Clermont were then reduced to 14 men when Delguy was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on and the Sharks made full use of their numerical advantage as Koch barged over from close quarters on the hour mark.

Masuku made no mistake from the kicking tee which meant the final quarter would be a nail-biting affair as the Sharks were now trailing by just six points. However, five minutes later, Aphelele Fassi was then shown a yellow card for taking out a player off the ball.

Despite that setback, the Sharks finished stronger and in the 71st minute they launched a counter attack from inside their half and Masuku and captain Lukhanyo Am did brilliantly to create space for Mapimpi, who rounded off in customary fashion in the left-hand corner.

Masuku showed his class to nail the difficult place-kick from close to the touchline which gave his side the lead and they held on for the victory in the game’s dying moments.

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Ethan Hooker, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Gerbrandt Grobler, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Boeta Chamberlain, 23 Francois Venter

Clermont: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Julien Heriteau, 12 Léon Darricarrere, 11 Joris Jurand, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Fritz Lee (c), 7 Peceli Yato, 6 Marcos Kremer, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Etienne Fourcade, 1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements: 16 Yohan Beheregaray, 17 Giorgi Dzmanashvili, 18 Cristian Ojovan, 19 Thibault Lanen, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 22 Theo Giral, 23 Yerim Fall

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)

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