The Cell C Sharks made the most of their point-scoring chances in the first half with flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicking three penalty goals to add to tries by Springboks Ox Nche (prop) and Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), while they limited the visitors to a single penalty goal for their efforts for a 16-3 halftime lead.

They touched down two tries in the second half and were awarded two penalty tries - while they denied the visitors from adding to their score - which sealed a convincing victory for the team.

Bosch opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a penalty goal and he added another six minutes later as the hosts took advantage of a dominant scum to hand the team a 6-0 lead.

The Dragons hit back with a penalty goal by flyhalf Josh Lewis in the 15^th minute to reduce their lead, but this was short-lived as Bosch added his third three-pointer shortly before the second quarter.

The hosts found their attacking rhythm soon after with Nche powering his way over tryline in the 14^th minute from a pick-and-go for a handy 16-3 lead.

Cell C Sharks hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored their second try from a fantastic rolling maul in the 34^th minute and Bosch added the extra two to extend their lead to 23-3. They were able to hold out the visitors, who were determined to cross the chalk before the break, in the dying minutes of the half for a 23-3 halftime lead.

The Durbanites picked up where they left off with Werner Kok (wing) dashing his way through several defenders in the 47^th minute and the conversion stretched their lead to 30-3, and they managed to shut out the Dragons close to their tryline soon after to maintain this convincing lead.

The Dragons tried hard to make their presence felt in the second half, showing more enterprise on attack, but they battled to breach the strong Cell C Sharks defence.

The home side’s dominance forced the Welshmen into desperate defence and it earned them a one-man advantage soon after as Lewis received a yellow card for foul play in the 59^th minute.

The hosts had two opportunities to score close to tryline in the following minutes, which they were unable to capitalise on, and visitors were dealt another blow soon after as Lewis Jones (replacement back) received a yellow card for a deliberate knock down in the 63rd minute, which saw them reduced to 13 men and led to the second penalty try.

Cell C Sharks fullback Anthony Volmink slashed through the defence shortly afterwards to extend their try tally to six thanks to fantastic support play, which pushed their lead to an emphatic 51-3 lead with 12 minutes left on the clock. The Dragons held out in the remaining minutes but the damage had long been done.

Scorers:

Cell C Sharks 51 (23) – Tries: Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Werner Kok, Penalty Try (2), Anthony Volmink. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (4). Penalty Goals: Curwin Bosch (3). 

Dragons 3 (3) – Penalty Goal: Josh Lewis.