The first half was tight tussle with only one try being scored, compliments of Cell C Sharks flank Henco Venter in the seventh minute, although the hosts will rue missed opportunities due to handling errors at crucial times.

The only other points scored in the opening stanza were by a penalty goal by Cell C Sharks flyhalf Curwin Bosch, and two by Zebre Parma’s Antonio Rizzi (flyhalf), which saw the Italians enter the break trailing 10-6.

The second half, however, was dominated by the Durbanites who scored four unanswered tries as they ran hard and showed enterprise on attack, which saw them seal the rewarding win.

Rizzi missed a strike at the goal posts early on, and it took only three minutes before Venter crashed over from pick and go following impressive forward play thanks to good patience on the tryline. Bosch added the extra two to hand the Cell C Sharks a 7-0 lead.

The Durbanites had a few opportunities close to the tryline before the end of the first quarter, but mistakes cost them from inflating their score.

Bosch kicked a penalty goal in the 26^th minute to take their score to 10 points, but Rizzi closed their gap on the scoreboard to four points going into the changeroom compliments of three-pointers in the 31^st minute and again on the stroke of halftime.

The Cell C Sharks came out fighting in the second half with Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi diving over the at a ruck and the conversion stretched their lead to 17-6, but and they were denied a third possible try several minutes later due to a forward pass.

The visitors were dealt a blow in the 54^th minute as lock Potu Junior Leavasa received a yellow card, and the hosts took full advantage of the extra man with replacement prop Khutha Mchunu stretching over, and Grant Williams (scrumhalf) added the bonus point try soon after as he gathered a stunning pass from a great break by Werner Kok (wing) to hand his side a rewarding 31-6 lead.

Zebre Parma flank Iacopo Bianchi received their second card soon after and this paved the way for Bosch to score yet another try with minutes left to play for a 38-6 lead and this is how the score remained until the final whistle.

Both teams tried hard to add to their score with the visitors showing their fighting spirit until the end, and this saw Cell C Sharks replacement hooker Kerron van Vuuren receive a yellow card for foul play, but despite this they managed to hold out the visitors to secure the invaluable win with an eye on the playoff stages of the competition.

Scorers:

Cell C Sharks 38 (10) – Tries: Henco Venter, Bongi Mbonambi, Khutha Mchunu, Grant Williams, Curwin Bosch. Conversions: Bosch (5). Penalty goal: Bosch.

Zebre Parma 6 (6) – Penalty Goals: Antonio Rizzi (2).