Botham double not enough as Sharks beat Cardiff 36–21

Cardiff Rugby lost 36–21 to Sharks at the Arms Park after conceding three late tries, despite James Botham’s double having put Cardiff ahead in the second half. Botham scored in the 45th and 58th minutes, with Jarrod Evans converting both tries to turn a 17–7 half-time deficit into a 21–17 lead. Sharks then scored 19 unanswered points to take the United Rugby Championship match.

A lead that did not last

Ethan Hooker opened the scoring for Sharks after two minutes. Josh Adams replied in the tenth minute and Evans’ conversion put Cardiff 7–5 ahead, before tries from Matt Romao and Jason Jenkins gave Sharks a 17–7 half-time advantage. Botham’s two scores brought Cardiff back in front, but Thomas du Toit crossed in the 62nd minute. Gianni Lombard’s conversion moved Sharks 24–21 ahead. Ethan Bester scored in the 74th minute, with Siya Masuku adding the conversion. Romao’s second try in the final minute took the visitors to 36 points and left Cardiff with a 15-point defeat.

The numbers behind the result

The URC match centre records six Sharks tries against Cardiff’s three. Both teams landed three conversions, with Evans successful after each of the home side’s scores. Sharks finished with 56% possession and 483 metres gained, compared with Cardiff’s 44% and 322 metres. The official comparison also gives Cardiff five lineouts won and four lost, while Sharks won all 12 of theirs. Both sides conceded 11 penalties. Those figures describe the match rather than proving that any single statistic caused the result. The complete scoring timeline, confirmed starters and replacements are available in Cover’s Cardiff–Sharks match centre.