The Vodacom United Rugby Championship (VURC) has now reached the business end as eight teams all vie for glory and success in the 16-team intercontinental tournament.
In the inaugural season of VURC, the Hollywoodbets Sharks finished the pool stages in a creditable fifth position on the log, narrowly losing away to the Vodacom Bulls in the quarter-final, dropping to eighth in the 2022/23 season, losing to Leinster in that quarter-final.
Last season was frustrating and the Hollywoodbets Sharks failed to make the top 8 for the first time, but their third-placed finish this season has been, by far, their finest season with 13 out of 18 wins, including eight of their last nine matches, both home and away, ending in victory.
There have been some ups and downs over the course of the season, the tournament opening with a three-match tour, the Durban side returning with a win from those three games, defeating Dragons 33-30 in Wales, but going down to Connacht and Benetton in the other two matches.
But their return to Hollywoodbets Kings Park was a highlight, defeating Glasgow Warriors, Munster and the DHL Stormers on successive weekends – all three former champions.
Another big highlight was beating the Vodacom Bulls both home and away (20-17 and 29-10), while they enjoyed a grand slam of victories over all four Welsh sides, also beating Cardiff away and scoring back-to-back home victories over Ospreys and Scarlets in the final two pool rounds.
The two Italian sides in the tournament put up a strong showing, with Benetton taking the spoils in round three and Zebre putting on the pressure before going down 35-34 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in March.
A mini tour near the closing stages saw the Hollywoodbets take on Edinburgh and Ulster and emerge victorious in both games, albeit in very close games, winning by one and three points in Scotland and Ireland, respectively.
Winning eight out of nine matches at home – the only disappointment a 10-7 reverse to Leinster – showed how important home ground advantage is, and what a fortress Hollywoodbets Kings Park has become, and how valuable home support is.
This all bodes well for the quarter-final rounds coming up next weekend, with the third-placed Hollywoodbets hosting fifth-placed Munster. The two teams last met in Durban in October last year, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks proving their worth with a 41-24 victory over the Irish.
While there is confidence to be taken out of their form, history counts for nothing, and this Hollywoodbets Sharks side will know that on knock-out day, anything is possible.
Although there have been some performances recently that the team know are under par, what they are getting right is finding ways to win games under pressure, and while some of the recent results might have been close, the Hollywoodbets Sharks continue to come out on top. And this is down to what Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree identifies as the team’s winning effort and intent.
“We’ve shown that all year, if you look at the games we’ve won at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and then lost a couple of close ones as well. So we’re not lacking in that space.”
All eyes are now on the VURC knock-outs after eight months of brutal, exciting and entertaining rugby between 16 teams from five different countries in one of rugby’s most challenging competitions.
“We can’t wait for the quarter-final, playing in front of our home crowd, it’s going to be amazing,” says Hollywoodbets Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth.
