Zebre claim first win in 29 games

By BEN JAYCOCK

Zebre …………… 12 Sharks ………… 10

Zebre secured their first win since April 2022 as they narrowly saw off the Sharks thanks to the boot of Geronimo Prisciantelli.

It was another scrappy start by the Sharks, who also coughed up a couple of early penalties – allowing full-back Prisciantelli to open Zebre's account with a penalty in the seventh minute.

From the restart Zebre were penalised for offside at the breakdown and Boeta Chamberlain leveled the scores.

Minutes later wing Jacopo Trulla, entrusted with the long-range kicks, slotted a second penalty for the hosts.

Again, the Sharks' response was immediate and blistering – some sublime hands resulting in scrum-half Cameron Wright scoring the match's first try.

On the hour mark Aphelele Fassi was sinbinned for a dangerous tackle, with Prisciantelli slotting the resulting penalty to narrow the gap to one point at 10-9.

The penalty count started to mount against the Sharks, with Prisciantelli putting his team back in the lead in the 67th minute – the first time since the 15th minute that they were ahead.

With just over two minutes to go Hyron Andrews was red-carded for a dangerous clean-out, leaving Zebre to hold on for their first league win in 29 games.