Spiderman and Black Panther put on a great fight to open proceedings on Super Hero Sunday at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday.
It was ultimately Peter Parker, in the form of the Lions, who landed the killer blow in a seesaw battle that ended with a 19-15 Lions win.
With the scoreboard reading 14-12 in favour of the Sharks, replacement Lions winger Sylvian Mahuza’s web caught a ball from Sharks replacement Rhyno Smith after he tried to kick forward his own handling error while his team was on the attack to claim victory.
The Lions held on for the win, despite the Sharks pushing hard for a late try.
Both teams, though, will be satisfied with the pre-season match even though fans had to wait 25 minutes for the first points.
Sharks wing Makazole Mapimpi broke the deadlock, pouncing with an intercept try only for the Lions to hit back through Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx in the 36th minute to make it 7-7 at the break.
First blood in the second half went to the Lions when flyhalf Elton Jantjies stabbed through a kick for Courtnall Skosan to scoop up and make it 12-7.
Five minutes later, it was replacement hooker Akker van der Merwe that dotted down for the Sharks’ second (14-12). And then Mahuza entered the fray.
Sharks - Tries:
Makazole Mapimpi and Akker van der Merwe; Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2).
Lions - Tries:
Malcolm Marx, Courtnall Skosan and Sylvian Mahuza; Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2).