Classy Leinster kill Sharks' hopes in first half

Defending Vodacom United Rugby Championship champions Leinster put on a classy performance to down the Hollywoodbets Sharks 31-5 in their clash in Dublin on Saturday night.

Leinster’s first-half performance sealed the game for them, as it often does on their home turf, while the Sharks were slow to start and simply made too many errors to be the side they needed to be to trouble their hosts.

Perhaps it is a bit hard on the Sharks, as they have a bunch of Boks still out, and have a very long injury list, but this was pretty much the same type of performance they tend to put out away from home without their strongest side.

Some fight, a lot of mistakes, and ultimately a disappointing performance from a side that should be so much better.

It wasn’t surprising to see that Leinster were better in every facet of the game, and dissected the Sharks' defence easily in the first half.

The problem with facing Leinster in Dublin (or most places for that matter) is that they do so many of the basic things well. Their quick ruck speed, superb handling and all-round game are something to behold.

STRANGLEHOLD

Their opposition often struggle to adapt, makes mistakes and the pressure is applied, and the Dublin side know how to strangle a team when they have them in their grasp.

It would have been nice to see the Sharks, who are ambitious enough to see themselves as the top South African team, going head-to-head with Leinster, but they were sucker punched early on and found it hard to keep up the pace.

Soft penalties, pressure mistakes and ultimately a dodgy lineout, compounded by the loss of Jason Jenkins before kick-off, made it a tough night at the Aviva Stadium.

The loss means a draw against the Dragons is all the Sharks have to show for their first three games, and against both Leinster and Glasgow Warriors, two of the premier teams in the competition, they were very off the pace.

Things will go better at their home base in Durban, but Sharks fans will not be content with the way the season has started, even though it is a marathon and there are enough chances to get better.

📊 | Here are the match stats from our 3️⃣1️⃣-5️⃣ win over @SharksRugby, courtesy of @LayaHealthcare#LEIvSHA #NeverLessThanEverything pic.twitter.com/NUshtVaTeM

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) October 11, 2025

The difference between the Sharks and say, the Lions, is that the Sharks have a bunch of quality players coming back that can make them better. One look at their injury list and Springbok call-ups will confirm that. But it is hardly consolation for the fans who are still waiting for the team to click into action.

BIG START FOR LEINSTER

On Saturday night, it was another one of those, with Leinster going 21-0 up before the Sharks troubled the scoreboard, and when they did, it was only through some individual brilliance in an intercept from Ethan Hooker that turned into points.

The first try was typical Leinster, building pressure before sending it wide to their talisman James Lowe, who put in a beauty of a grubber to bounce perfectly for James Osbourne to beat the defenders on hand.

In the 22nd minute, Jimmy O’Brien scored the easiest of tries from a setpiece, as he was put through a hole with an inside pass that left the Sharks players watching his way to the line.

Their third try was similar, with sustained pressure opening up a gap for Josh van der Flier to run into a perfect line to score untouched as well.

At 21-0 down, the Sharks looked dead and buried, but Hooker’s intercept gave them life.

BETTER SECOND HALF

Their second-half performance had much more fight in it, and kept Leinster to two tries.

Other than that, they had their chances, but were often snuffed out by poor handling, poor decision-making and a lineout that was more than wonky.

Tough way to finish the tour.

Onto our first home game next Saturday at the Shark Tank 🦈@Vodacom #URC #LEIvSHA pic.twitter.com/R6DDMhjLAZ

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) October 11, 2025

Max Deegan scored early in the second half, and a poor overthrow from Bongi Mbonambi late in the game cost them the final try as it landed perfectly in the hands of Gus McCarthy, who simply surged forward to score.

The Sharks will return home hoping there are better times coming, but Saturday night in Dublin will be one they don’t want to remember.

And a performance we’ve seen from so many sides against Leinster before.

SCORERS

LEINSTER - tries: James Osbourne, Jimmy O’Brien, Josh van der Flier, Max Deegan, Gus McCarthy. Conversions: Harry Byrne (3).

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS - try: Ethan Hooker.