FULL-TIME! SHARKS 7-10 LEINSTER! Sharks win their lineout but Leinster ruck hard and are awarded a scrum… and with that the ref blows to end a thrilling match! Hope you enjoyed following the action with us - it was a cracker of a match.
Leinster drive forward, holding onto the ball, then kick an up and under… but they are blown for a foul. Penalty on the 10m line… and Siya Kolisi tells Masuku to kick for the touchline… he succeeds and Sharks have a lineout 8m inside the 22…
The injury delay to the Leinster forward over, play resumes with the Sharks pressing on the Leinster 22. Alex Soroka leaves the field on foot which is a sign he is hopefully not too badly injured. Leinster with the scrum…
Sharks run the ball… but the ref bows for a penalty after the Leinster centre went offside. Masuku kicks into touch 7m short of the Leinster 22… now or never for the Sharks…
Leinster run from the scrum, battering away at the Sharks defence as they slowly gather ground… but a handling error on the wing gives the Sharks the scrum.
Leinster launch a high ball into the Sharks half, Mapimpi fails to take it as it drifts away from him… Leinster with the scrum halfway between the Sharks 10m and 22.
Sharks spoil the Leinster lineout and win a scrum just in front of their 10m line… they run it quickly and the ref calls a penalty advantage as. they keep running… Masuku slips, and the ref blows for the Leinster offside and a no-arms tackle. Masuku clears to the 10m…. the throw is too deep, it bounces up an a Leinster man rises to take it… but Penxe is blown for tackling in the air.
Leinster power their way forward and into the Sharks 22, but they are blown for a penalty and Masuku clears the ball into touch just past the halfway line. A superb kick.
Leinster turn possession over and drive up into the Sharks half…
Sharks press hard again but Leinster hold them up.
Both sides take turns putting the pressure on one another, Sharks winning a scrum after a Leinster knock-on.
Leinster clear the pressure but the Sharks come storming back at them.
Magnificent drive down the right, Hooker gets the ball and drives down the line, cuts in and takes three men over the line…but the ref rules that the ball was held up. Superb from the Sharks… Leinster suddenly looking ropey…
MASSIVE PRESSURE from Leinster on the Sharks 22, but they concede a penalty and Hendrikse clears it to the halfway line. Stormers run the ball superbly at pace, some brilliant handling. Brought to ground they thread the ball to the left wing… but Leinster turn possession over on their 22…
CONVERSION, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 7-10; Jordan Hendrikse slots the conversion from close to the poles.
TRY, SHARKS, MBONAMBI! 5-10; Stunning drive by the Sharks, and what a sideways ru by Bongi Mbonambi to power towards a gap in the Leinster line to crash over for the Sharks' first score of the night. Magic play from the Sharks.
Sharks on the attack now, driving forward… into the Leinster 22…
POST! Frawley's conversion attempt from just 10m to the left of the poles strikes the upright and rebounds back infield - a stunning miss. How costly might that be for Leinster?
ULSTER, TRY, PENNY! 0-10; Scott Penny runs into space, picking up a lovely pass and diving over for Leinster's second score of the night.
Lovely control from Leinster, pressing into the Sharks 22… driving hard at the home defence…
Sharks press Leinster back to the halfway line but give away a penalty. Frawley kicks into touich past the Sharks 22m line.
Leinster with the early pressure, but the Sharks turn possession over.
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half…
HALF-TIME, SHARKS 0-5 LEINSTER. An absorbing first half of tough rugby, Leinster holding on for a narrow lead.
Sharks press hard to run down the left touchline but are forced into touch… a few Leinster players push and press Mapimpi, the ref having to jump in to calm things down. He went pretty easy on Leinster there… and we have half-time.
Sharks pile on the pressure on the Leinster 5m, driving again and again… but the Sharks are blown for offside a moment before a Sharks forward crashes over the line. No try… Leinster penalty.
Sharks win the scrum and press upfield, earning a lineout on the Leinster 10m… they run the ball, kick… but Leinster as penalised for breaking early from the maul. Hendrikse kicks to the Leinster 22m for a a lineout, which they claim and drive, then run the line…
Scrappy period of play sees Leinster press past the Sharks 10m and win a scrum 15m in from the right touchline.
Leinster turn possession over, Frawley kicks for touch… but it's overcooked and the Sharks will have the lineout.
Sharks win the lineout and run the line…
Hendrikse rejoins the action… we're back to 15v15. Sharks win the lineout on their 10m…
Leinster win lineout and power to the Sharks line, but the home defence is strong and they earn a penalty 10m from their line.
Sharks press into the Leinster half… Frawley clears but is cleaned out by Emile van Heerden who couldn't brake in time… the Sharks man injuring himself. Penalty to Leinster where the kick landed… kicked into touch… Leinster lineout on the Sharks 5m line…
Mapimpi fields a long Leinster clearance and runs at the Leinster line… his side spin passes wide but Leinster overturns possession and kick back into the Sharks˙… Mapimpi again running hard at the Leinster line, this time the Sharks retaining possession.
Frawley's conversion from the right touchline fails to add the extra points, but the effect of playing with 14 men has already been felt.
TRY, LEINSTER, MCERLEAN! 0-5; Long pass out to the wing from Gunne finds Henry McErlean on the wing unmarked and he falls over the line for his first URC try.
YELLOW CARD, SHARKS, JADEN HENDRIKSE. Binned for kicking out in the maul to cause the Leinster knock-on.
The ref is calling for the TMO to look into the scrum…
Leinster press forward but the Sharks hold them out and there's a knock-on from Leinster so the Sharks will have the scrum.
Great crossfield kick from Frawley to his left wing, but he has no space so runs back infield and is brought to ground… but Leinster have a penalty… and they will run from the 5m line…
Leinster finally break into the 22, a great run to the line being stopped, but Leinster are hammering away with just 5m to the Sharks line…
Leinster finally break into the 22, a great run to the line being stopped, but Leinster are hammering away with just 5m to the Sharks line…
Leinster run the ball the Sharks defence pulls them to ground… Leinster batter the Sharks line again and again, but the Sharks not allowing them past the 22…
Sharks steal the lineout ball but there's a knock-on in the backline. Leinster to feed the scrum.
Sharks with the scrum, run swiftly to the left wing, great hands, but Leinster's defence brings them down… and they're awarded a penalty, which is kicked to touch just short of the Sharks 22.
Leinster break through the Sharks halfway line before being brought to ground, the loose ball being swooped up and the Sharks looking to break through, but some excellent tackling brings Mapimpi to ground as he looked to break free. Some exchanging of handbags follows, but the ref calms the big lads down.
Great pressure from the Leinster defence to push the Sharks back to outside their 22… and they will feed the scrum. Big opportunity lost for the Sharks.
PENALTY SHARKS! Leinster blown for not holding the scrum, and Hendrikse boots it sideways into touch for a lineout 5m.
Leinster penalised in the lineout, Sharks run the penalty press up to 7m from the line, great short pass to a lovely run from Penxe, but he's tackled as he takes it, and the ball spurts forward for a Leinster scrum.
Sharks win a penalty 5m short of the Leinster 22, and it's kicked into touch for a lineout 5m from the Leinster line…
Sharks with the early possession up into the Leinster half and pushing up to the 22 with some good passing down the backline…
KICK-OFF! We're underway with this top four clash at Kings Park in Durban.
Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Charlie Tector, 11 Andrew Osborne, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Diarmuid Manga, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 John McKee, 1 Cian Healy. Replacements: 16 Lee Barron, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Rory McGuire, 19 Alan Spicer, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Henry McErlean.
Sharks: 15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 James Venter, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Manu Tshituka, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Siya Masuku, 23 Francois Venter.
Leinster's last two matches yielded a 42-24 home win over Cardiff, followed by last week's dramatic 21-20 away loss to the Bulls.
The Sharks' last two matches saw them lose 38-14 away to the Lions, followed by a nail-biting 35-34 home win over Zebre Parma last week.
Leinster have won three of their last five matches against the Sharks, with tonight's home side winning two matches. Leinster lead the average points score in those five matches by 38-27.
Leinster are top off the table, with 58 points from their 13 matches. They have a phenomenal points difference of plus-193.
The Sharks are in fourth place on the table, with 44 points from their 13 matches, including a plus-five points difference.
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the Sharks vs Leinster clash at Kings Park Stadium in Durban. It's the Round of 14 clash for two teams in the top four of the table.