Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Scott Penny crosses for a try.Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart/INPHO Resolute Leinster grind out impressive win against Sharks Leo Cullen’s side held Springbok-heavy opponents to just seven points. 8.15pm, 29 Mar 2025 Share options Leinster 10 A LEINSTER TEAM manned mostly by second-choice players fashioned a famous win at Kings Park on Saturday night against a Springbok-laden Sharks team, and the Sharks will hang their heads in disappointment. It was a 10-7 arm-wrestle in the steamy conditions of late summer on the east coast of South Africa and the Irish side won through thanks to their structure and courage on defence and their bloodyminded insistence on denying the Sharks. Kings Park is, of course, a recent happy hunting ground for Irish teams, given that it is the ground where Ciarán Frawley drop-kicked his way to glory in the second Test against the Springboks last year. Frawley was again at the helm as Leinster ground out a courageous win. They just would not surrender, and the Sharks visibly wilted after a massive onslaught in the first half an hour bore no fruit. Fintan Gunne readies himself for the put-in.Steve Haag Sports / Darren Stewart/INPHO Steve Haag Sports / Darren Stewart/INPHO / Darren Stewart/INPHO The pressure had been on the full-strength Sharks to beat a Leinster team littered with youngsters either in their academy or freshly out of it. There were 12 Springboks on show, including World Cup heroes in Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi, Malazole Mapimpi and Ox Nche, so anything short of a convincing victory on Durban soil would not have done for the Durbanites. Leinster had also made eight changes from the side that almost beat the Bulls the previous week as Leo Cullen gave opportunities to his greater travelling squad. They were also bereft of two stars of the Bulls game in Jordie Barrett and RG Snyman. The pair were withdrawn to join the main squad in Dublin ahead of the game that currently matters most to Leinster — the upcoming Champions Cup clash with Bath. It took 20 minutes before Leinster fashioned a meaningful attack but before that they had soaked up relentless pressure without conceding a point. They were rewarded with the first points of the match when a sweeping pass from scrumhalf Fintan Gunne found Henry McErlean out wide. Ten minutes into the second half it got better for Leinster when Scott Penny went over after a well-worked lineout move. It was 10-0 and deservedly so as the Sharks squandered their opportunities and the visitors clinically took theirs. Advertisement Scott Penny ghosts through to score our second. 🙌#SHAvLEI #NeverLessThanEverything pic.twitter.com/Vyw6YyzWp3— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) March 29, 2025 As the three-quarter mark approached, the out-played Sharks eventually gave their 27,000-strong crowd something to cheer about when hooker Mbonambi finished strongly off the back of a lineout maul. It would be the Sharks’ only points of the match. The Leinster structures held firm as the Sharks disintegrated under the growing pressure. The fact that the Sharks surrendered their six-game unbeaten home record will disappoint them as much as their failure to beat a Leinster team side that was here to grow, but did more than that. Sharks scorers: Try: Bongi Mbonambi. Conversion:Jordan Hendrike Leinster scorers: Tries: Henry McErlean, Scott Penny. Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien [Henry McErlean,’15] Liam Turner, Charlie Tector [, ‘62], Andrew Osbourne; Ciarán Frawley, Fintan Gunne; Cian Healy [Lee Barron, ‘60], John McKee [Rory McGuire], Thomas Clarkson [Michael Milne, ‘65], Diarmuid Mangan, Brian Deeny, Alex Soroka, Will Connors [Scott Pennym ‘65], Max Deegan (capt). Sharks: Yaw Penxe [Siya Masuku, ‘64], Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen [Francois Venter, ‘59], Makazole Mapimpi; Jordan Hendrikse, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche [Nthuko Mchunu, ‘68], Bongi Mbonambi [Fez Mbatha, ‘62], Vincent Koch [Ruan Dreyer, ‘ 65], Emile van Heerden, Jason Jenkins, James Venter [Manu Tshituka, ‘60], Vincent Tshituka, Siya Kolisi. Ref: Ben Breakspear (Wales). Mike Greenaway View 28 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Resolute Leinster grind out impressive win against Sharks ”. 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