After the disappointment of the Autumn Nations Series, Cardiff gave Welsh fans a reason to cheer as they thrashed the Sharks 35-0 in Durban.
In atrocious weather at Kings Park Stadium, the visitors handled the rain-soaked conditions much better than their opponents and opened up a 23-0 lead at the break.
Jarrod Evans kicked two penalties before the Welsh region were awarded a penalty try to move 13 points clear.
A Thomas Young brace either side of the interval put Cardiff in command before Ben Thomas wrapped up a stunning bonus-point triumph over the Sharks.
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Both sides were without their Wales and South Africa stars due to Saturday’s out-of-window internationals, but Cardiff’s achievement was nevertheless a hugely impressive one.
Evans got the visitors off the mark from the tee after two minutes, but the they suffered a setback when Josh Turnbull was yellow carded following a clash of heads with Anthony Volmink.
Conditions worsened as the half progressed and were reminiscent of those witnessed at Hollywoodbet Kings Park in the Sharks’ defeat to Edinburgh last season – their only previous home loss to European opposition.
Evans doubled Cardiff’s advantage as the match entered the second quarter and the capital region were awarded a penalty try after Marnus Potgieter was deemed to have deliberately knocked the ball dead to prevent Young from touching down. The Sharks wing was also sin-binned for his troubles.
Another Evans penalty made it 16-0 and a Volmink spillage opened the door for Young to race over after Cardiff picked up the pieces, with Evans’ conversion sending the tourists in at the break with a margin they could only have dreamed of ahead of kick-off.
The rain had relented somewhat by the second half, but Cardiff had not.
A driving maul guided Young over for his second try 10 minutes after the restart, although Evans was unable to add the extras on this occasion.
Cardiff had the bonus-point in the bag eight minutes later when they got the ball out to Thomas on the left to go over in the corner, and Evans rediscovered his range to convert.
The Sharks looked to have finally opened their account after 65 minutes, only for Francois Venter’s try to be disallowed for a knock-on in the maul.
Evans missed a penalty before time was up, but there was no taking the gloss off the victory as Cardiff kept their hosts pointless.
Clinical Lions overcome the Dragons
The Dragons were made to rue wasted opportunities as they suffered their first defeat in three matches in a battling 33-25 United Rugby Championship loss at the hands of the Lions in Johannesburg.
Prior to Sunday’s fixture, the hosts had won all three of their away fixtures but suffered defeats in each of their three matches at Emirates Airline Park.
The Dragons failed to make the most of an early Lions yellow card, and Ruhan Straeuli’s try combined with 14 points from the boot of Jordan Hendrikse had the home side 19-6 up at the interval.
Sio Tomkinson went over with the Lions down to 14 men again early in the second period, but Hendrikse’s touchdown kept the visitors at arm’s length.
James Benjamin’s try showed the Dragons were still in the fight, but JP Smith effectively wrapped up the win and Che Hope’s late score served only as consolation, as the Welsh region fell just short of a bonus point.
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