In losing their tour-finale in Parma on Friday night, the winless Sharks suffered the ignominy of becoming the first team to be scalped by Zebre in 28 matches dating back to April last year.
The Sharks remain rooted to the bottom of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship table after suffering a 12-10 defeat to Zebre at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in round 4 of the 2023-24 season.
Though the Sharks defended courageously to limit Zebre to their lowest score of the season, a high error-rate and a sloppy set piece nullified any gains they made on attack.
Fullback Geronimo Prisciantelli kicked three penalties and winger Jacopo Trulla converted one for Zebre, while the Sharks scored all their points in the first half – a penalty from flyhalf Boeta Chamberlain and scrumhalf Cameron Wright’s converted try to give the tourists a 10-6 lead at the break.
𝐙𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝟔-𝟏𝟎 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬
At the break, the Sharks are riding the wave of success, thanks to Cameron Wright’s try 🏉
📱 Stream Vodacom #URC live: https://t.co/bDeiretgWP pic.twitter.com/GO6yh1SZo6
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 10, 2023
Prisciantelli kicked two second-half penalties to secure Zebre’s first URC victory in 18 months since beating Dragons 23-18 in round 17 of last season.
It’s a huge night for @ZebreParma as they emerge victorious in their clash against HollywoodBets @SharksRugby, their first win in the BKT URC since April 2022 👏#BKTURC | #ZEBvSHA pic.twitter.com/BHyqqoyhgM
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 10, 2023
Photo: Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images