Five Sharks were in full senior international action this weekend as the Nations Championship kicked off with a bumper Saturday of action.
First up it was a battle of the future Sharks as incoming Fijian back-rower Elia Canakaivata and Wales loosehead Nicky Smith, who is joining from Leicester, went head to head in Cardiff.
Canakaivata started the game at the Cardiff City Stadium in the number 8 shirt and marked the occasion with a try from the back of a powerful driving maul. That second-half score reduced the deficit to 15-22 but Wales pulled away with the help of replacement prop Smith, who entered the fray on 46 minutes, to win 24-39.
Steve Borthwick’s England kicked off their campaign with a daunting trip to face world champions South Africa at Ellis Park.
Sharks flanker Tom Curry started the game while front-rowers Luke Cowan-Dickie and Asher Opoku-Fordjour were named on the replacements bench.
The Springboks quickly raced into a 17-0 lead but Curry and the rest of the forwards played a key role as England scored two tries to make the half-time score 17-14.
Cowan-Dickie and Opoku-Fordjour came on in the second half but they couldn’t halt the Boks’ charge as the home side scored four more tries to win 45-21.
The second round of the Nations Championship sees England take on Canakaivata’s Fiji on Saturday in a home game for the Pacific Islanders at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, in Liverpool.
In the U20s World Championship, Sharks flanker Seb Kelly captained England to a 68-40 win over the USA on Thursday. Kelly, along with Patrick Hogg and Oliver Spencer, will be involved for England on Tuesday when they face Argentina in Pool C.
England are currently two wins from two having beaten Ireland in their opening pool stage game.
©INPHO/Levan Verdzeuli
