Avonvale made all the running in the first half and soon racked up a 22 – 0 lead. Squandering several over-laps they might have had more. Sharks started to play some decent rugby but were pressured by the Avonvale defence who flirted continuously with the off-side line. Possession remained limited, with the interpretation of the scrum rules being contrary to that understood by the Sharks pack. A normally dominant front row saw themselves losing 8 strikes against the head which restricted the amount of opportunities the back had to attack.

This was an important learning opportunity for the team. The laws of rugby are complex and open to interpretation and they must learn to adapt and change to those interpretations.

The rucking went well and through quick ball and a disorganised defence Jacob Evans was able to take advantage of the space to score a great try between the posts, beating several defenders on the way. This was converted and Sharks turned round at half-time 22 – 7 down.

The team set themselves a target of 3 further tries in the second half, and despite an early score by Avonvale, Sharks started to play some rugby. Some great off-loading interspersed with wider play saw the Sharks side matching Avonvale for endeavour and exciting play. Very positive phases of interplay by backs and forwards backed by pressure defence saw Tom Stirzaker, Ben Critchley, Jack Thornton, George Briggs, Macauley Chesson, JB and Sam Kessler make some real inroads, with Stirzaker making the break of the day from his own 22, to put Briggs over in the corner. Briggs and Matt Wilkinson scored two further excellent tries, and with Avonvale also scoring the final score settled at 37 – 24.

A very enjoyable match, and on balance a well-deserved win for Avonvale. Certainly a fixture to look at in the future. An ambitious and well balanced side, the match was well contested and great to watch

Scoring tries was not something that came easy to Sharks two years ago, but 4 tries in a game is something for which they can be justifiably proud