United Rugby Championship: Sharks 24-31 Ulster - Visitors hold off Sharks in rearranged fixture

Tom Stewart notched two first-half tries for Ulster after coming on after only three minutes for John Andrew

Ulster secured an important bonus-point 31-24 win against the Sharks in Durban in the United Rugby Championship.

Grant Williams and Thaakir Abrahams touched down for the Sharks but Ulster responded with two tries from hooker Tom Stewart to lead 17-12 at half-time.

Stewart Moore and Harry Sheridan added further scores after the restart to give Ulster the bonus point.

Sharks hit back with tries from Ntuthuko Mchunu and Boeta Chamberlain to set up a nervy final few minutes.

Dan McFarland's side remain in third place in the URC league table, but this result will be a major boost as it increases the gap between the Irish province and fourth-placed Glasgow.

The fixture was rearranged because Ulster suffered an outbreak of illness in the travelling squad following a 39-37 victory over the Lions back in October.

Ulster got off to a terrible start by conceding a try within the first two minutes courtesy of Williams, who exploited a gap in the defence and touched down to give his side an early lead.

Ulster fought their way back into the game, which continued at a frantic pace and a number of errors from both sides.

Replacement Ulster hooker Tom Stewart steered a well-constructed maul over the line and crashed over to get his side off the mark.

Sharks hit back with a break from Williams and a clever kick which was collected and finished by Abrahams, with Bosch adding the extras to put his side ahead.

The ebb and flow of the game continued, as Ulster utilised their dominant maul once again, with Stewart touching down for his second try of the game.

The visitors went in at the break leading 12-17, with John Cooney's flawless kicking the only difference between the sides.

Ulster had the perfect start to the second half, with Moore exploiting a lapse in concentration from scrum-half Williams to pounce on the ball over the line and give his side the boost they needed in the energy-sapping, humid conditions.

The Sharks dominated in terms of territory and possession were eventually rewarded as, after a line-out move, the ball was spread to midfield and prop Mchunu powered his way over to set up a dramatic last quarter.

Sheridan's second try in as many matches again put daylight between the sides, and Ulster held on to win despite Chamberlain's score with three minutes to play.

Sharks: Chamberlain; Kok, Venter, Van Rensburg, Abrahams; Bosch, Williams; Mchunu, Jooste, Sadie; Hugo, Grobler; Richardson, Tshituka, Buthelezi (capt.)

Replacements: Mbatha, Bleuler, Jacobs, Van Heerden, Notshe, Wright, Cronje, Penxe

Ulster: Lowry; Gilroy, Marshall, Moore, Sexton; Flannery, Cooney; Sutherland, Andrew, Toomaga-Allen; O'Connor, Sheridan; Murphy, Timoney, Vermeulen (capt.).

Replacements: Stewart, Warwick, Milasinovich, Izuchukwu, McCann, Shanahan, Madigan, McIlroy.

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