Johannesburg - The Lions came back after conceding two first-half tries to beat the Sharks 23-21 at Ellis Park to keep up their winning run in Super Rugby.
The Lions were 14-6 down before debutant Howard Mnisi scored on the stroke of halftime and then went over for two quick tries at the start of the second period as his side won for the fifth time in six games.
Defeat for the Sharks followed on their horror implosion at home last weekend when they were beaten 52-10 by the Crusaders.
They looked initially to have shrugged off that setback when Renaldo Bothma went over as he spun through two tackles after an initial break through the middle by Andre Esterhuizen.
Speedy winger Lwazi Mvovo then outran the Lions defence to stretch the early lead to eight points.
But the Lions rallied through Mnisi and tries from Francois de Klerk and Harold Vorster in the first six minutes of the second half as they turned the scoreline around to 23-14.
The Sharks fought back with a try two minutes from the end from Thomas du Toit and could have won with the last kick of the game but an ambitious penalty attempt from the halfway line by Fred Zelinga sailed wide. – Reuters