The Irish province led 7-0 at half-time after a lacklustre first half, but the game somewhat lit up after the break, and the Sharks thought they had secured victory when Fez Mbatha went over with six minutes remaining to give the hosts a three-point lead.
However, when Munster were awarded a penalty shortly thereafter, Conor Murray stepped up to slot a nerveless kick which sent the game into extra-time.
With both sets of players exhausted and the ball slippery, the scoreboard attendant had nothing to do in extra-time, prompting the first placekick shootout in the competition’s history.
The friction between the two teams had reached boiling point by then, with Jaden Hendrikse and Jack Crowley showing particular agitation with each other.
The pair took the first kicks, with both sailing over. Jordan Hendrikse then emulated his brother’s effort while Rory Scannell sent his effort wide to give the Sharks the edge.
Bradley Davids split the upright with his first effort, and by the time it was his turn again in the shootout, nobody else had missed, meaning he knew that another good kick would send his side in the semi-finals. He duly delivered to the delight of the jubilant Durban crowd.
Bulls roar back to beat Edinburgh
Earlier in the day, the Bulls’ late surge saw them beat Edinburgh and book their place in the last four.
The visitors had raced to a 21-8 lead within 30 minutes, but the Bulls notched two tries at the end of the first half to make it 21-18 at half-time.
From there Jake White’s side continued to pile on the points, scoring three converted tries in the first 15 minutes of the second period to blow the visitors away and eventually win 42-33.
The Bulls will host the Sharks at Loftus Versveld in an all-South African semi-final next week, while Glasgow will visit Leinster in Dublin in the other semi-final, after the two saw off the Stormers and Scarlets respectively.
