The Sharks ended a six-game losing streak when they edged the Reds 21-14 in their Super Rugby showdown in Brisbane on Friday.
It brought a disappointing tour to a joyous end - after defeats to the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Waratahs on the road.
The Reds, who could find themselves back at the foot of the table once the round of matches have run its conclusion, it was a forgetful outing.
Their shocking show was encapsulated in the comical way they gifted the Sharks, and scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer, their second try.
The Sharks, their playing ranks fully stretched by injuries after a sapping tour, looked under pressure when the Reds pulled to within two points with 30 minutes to go.
But the gritty South Africans were gifted a match-clinching second try to scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer - who had pulled his hamstring and just hanging around hoping for a break in play - couldn't believe his luck when a poor James O'Connor clearing kick went straight to him, just metres out from the try-line, allowing him to flop over and score.
Both sides scored two tries, but Frans Steyn was the winning difference with three penalty goals - one from 47 metres - and a conversion.
"We're just happy to get a win. It's been a very long tour and things haven't gone well for us this season and when that happens the knives come out," Sharks skipper Marco Wentzel said.
"The boys stuck together, we stayed a good group and thanked the people who stuck with us, it's hard to support a Sharks team that hasn't been doing well.
"Marcell Coetzee was amazing over the ball as well as Bismarck du Plessis and the boys worked hard, this is great to win here."
The Sharks got away to a 10-0 lead, after Ungerer scored the first of his two tries, darting away off the base of the scrum to score on the blindside.
The Reds hit back with wing Chris Kuridrani scoring after nine players handled in a sweeping move featuring centre Samu Kerevi.
But Steyn kept the Sharks ahead with two penalties to lead 16-7 at half-time.
Kerevi scored for the Reds 11 minutes after half time off a Will Genia pass and O'Connor's conversion nudged the home side to within two points at 16-14.
But O'Connor gifted the Sharks their clinching try with a shocking clearance kick from behind his try-line straight to Ungerer, who only had to run a few metres to score untouched.
The Sharks return home and face the Melbourne Rebels in Durban next weekend, while the Reds travel to Perth to play the Western Force.
Man of the match: Liam Gill tried hard and James Hanson was the Reds' most productive player. For the rest it was pure rabble. Lwazi Mvovo had a few good runs, JP Pietersen was a monster on defence and Stefan Ungerer scored the match-winning tries. Up front Renaldo Bothma and Marcell Coetzee were the energisers of the team, while Jannie du Plessis showed there is still some scrum power left in his veteran legs. However, our award goes to Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis - who took his tackle count well into double figures, made plenty of metres in his eight carries and most of all won six crucial turnovers.
The scorers:
For the Reds:
Tries: Kuridrani, Kerevi
Cons: O'Connor 2
For the Sharks:
Tries: Ungerer 2
Con: Steyn
Pens: Steyn 3
Teams:
Reds: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 13 Karmichael Hunt, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Chris Kuridrani, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Pettowa Paraka, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Ed O'Donoghue, 20 Lolo Fakaosilea, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Ben Tapuai.
Sharks: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Andre Esterhuizen, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Sibusiso Sithole, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Etienne Oosthuizen, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Waylon Murray.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Matt O'Brien (Australia), Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)
