Western Force suffer defeat to Sharks after having two tries disallowed

Two disallowed tries ensured the Western Force ended their South African tour fruitless, with the Sharks winning their Super Rugby match 15-9 at Kings Park in Durban.

The Force were looking to shake off the heart-breaking, last-second loss to the Bulls in Pretoria after controlling the majority of that contest and again they took it right up to more fancied South African opponents.

The Force led 6-0 at half-time with two penalties courtesy of Sias Ebersohn, but a disallowed try to Ben McCalman and then another in the second half to Steve Mafi proved match-deciding.

The Sharks ran in two tries after the break courtesy of SP Marais and Lwazi Mvovo to secure the win despite the Force feeling as though they were the better performers.

The Perth-based franchise has now lost six straight matches since scoring a stirring opening-round victory against the defending champion Waratahs in Sydney.

Both teams missed early penalty attempts on Saturday with Frans Steyn struggling with the kicking duties on goal and in play in the absence of the rested Patrick Lambie.

The Force did lead 6-0 at half-time thanks to the boot of Ebersohn, but a disallowed try to McCalman when referee Nick Briant refused to declare the ball had touched the line denied the visitors a healthier advantage.

With Force captain Sam Wykes joining winger Marcel Brache in being ruled out of the game due to concussion, the Sharks got on top in the second half starting with a try to Marais just minutes into the half.

Then a stirring run returning a kick from Marais set up a try to Mvovo and that proved enough to win the game for the Sharks.

However, the Force were again denied a try despite Mafi crossing in style. McCalman was ruled to have caused obstruction and that only added to the pain for the visitors.