The Hollywoodbets Sharks went back to treading water in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign as they were outplayed 44-17 by Connacht in their crunch sixth round match in Galway on Saturday night.
The Sharks achieved their first win of the season in the game against the Scarlets just before the international break and to have any realistic hope of going into the derby phase over the festive season with some stability in their log position they needed to win against a team that was just ahead of them on the log at the start of the weekend.
Connacht were 12th and the Sharks were 13th.
Other results saw the Sharks drop a place to 14th by the time the game kicked off and that is where they will stay over the break for the first two rounds of the Investec Champions Cup before they return to URC action with a crucial home derby against the Vodacom Bulls just before Christmas.
Connacht, by contrast, move up a few positions thanks to their win, and they also have a game in hand on the Durban team.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks suffer their fourth #VURC loss of the season 🦈#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/qGZxljlnSW
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 29, 2025
Most disturbing for Sharks fans was that there was no evidence of the improvement or much hoped for turnaround after five weeks off and while there has been a lot of focus from the critics on the Sharks’ poor attacking game, which still requires a lot of work, it has to also be pointed out that the defence requires improvement too.
There were a further five tries conceded in a season where the defence has been porous.
LED BRIEFLY
It was Connacht who started the stronger of the two teams but after they fell behind to a Sean Naughton penalty in the eighth minute, the Sharks made full use of a rare incursion into Connacht territory by scoring a good driving maul try dotted down by hooker Fez Mbatha.
Debutant flyhalf George Whitehead missed the conversion but the five pointer meant the Sharks were ahead 5-3 after 15 minutes.
It was though the last time in the game that the Sharks were to be in front, with Connacht’s Josh Ioane producing a show and go that wrong footed the Sharks defenders in the 17th minute before the captain and flank Paul Boyle muscled past Edwill van der Merwe to score a try in the corner that regained his team the lead.
It was a close game to that point, with a point of difference being Connacht’s superiority at the breakdowns, where the Sharks conceded a few too many penalties.
A Naughton penalty in the 27th minute put daylight between the teams as Connacht went 13-5 ahead and that coincided with Sharks lock Jason Jenkins being yellow carded.
It wasn’t long after that Connacht produced a great exhibition of playing the ball into the space with an impressive and patient buildup that eventually saw Chay Mullins go over in the left corner.
With the conversion making it 20-5 the mountain the Sharks had to climb in their effort to get a much needed win became a tough one, and the task became sharper still when Naughton added another penalty on the stroke of halftime to make it 23-5.
BECAME MORE DIRECT
The Sharks appeared to change tactics after the break and became more direct and also quickened up their game, but Connacht’s defence held firm under the onslaught and as the minutes ticked by without the Sharks scoring so their chances of coming back into the game dissipated.
The Sharks’ defence by contrast always looked vulnerable and it wasn’t much of a surprise when outside centre Hugh Gavin went over untouched off a training ground move that started at a lineout.
The conversion made it 30-5 with just a quarter of the game remaining.
Makazole Mapimpi ran in a good try to cut the deficit to 20 points not long after that, but 20 was always going to be too many, particularly when Matthew Devine went over for his team’s fourth try with eight minutes to go.
The Sharks made try scoring look easy when replacement lock Emile van Heerden went in for a third Sharks try that momentarily suggested they might challenge for a consolation bonus point.
But a try to Sam Illo gave Connacht the last say on a night where they were comprehensively better than a team that still looks a long way from the resurrection that would have been hoped for after a five week break.
ALARM BELLS SHOULD CONTINUE TO CLANG
The Sharks clearly missed their many missing Springboks, but given that they did have five weeks to build up to this game their lack of any evident progress means the alarm bells will continue clanging in Durban rugby circles.
Not that a Sharks win was expected as they start a difficult period which sees them travel to Toulouse next week for their first Investec Champions Cup game.
With the Sharks likely to go under-strength into that game as they prioritise their first home game against Saracens six days later, things look likely to go downhill before there is any upward curve in their performance graph.
Given the red card shown to senior player Eben Etzebeth playing for the Boks earlier in the evening and the likelihood of a long suspension, it really wasn’t a good night for Sharks rugby.
Scores
Connacht 44 - Tries: Paul Boyle, Chay Mullins, Hugh Gavin, Matthew Devine and Sam Illo; Conversions: Sean Naughton 5; Penalties: Sean Naughton 3.
Hollywoodbets Sharks 17 - Tries: Fez Mbatha, Makazole Mapimpi and Emile van Heerden; Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse.