The Hollywoodbets Sharks weren’t in the Investec Champions Cup last year and had to qualify the hard way but they are on the cusp this weekend of making sure of a much-coveted passage to the first knock-out round of the elite European competition.
The Sharks, beaten quarterfinalists at the hands of Toulouse in their only other season in the Champions Cup in 2022/2023, struggled in their bread-and-butter competition, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, last season.
By finishing in the bottom half of the URC log, they had to win the EPCR Challenge Cup to ensure they could be part of the premier competition this year, and so far they have made a full fist of their quest for what most regard as the ultimate silverware available in club/regional rugby.
They banked full points against Exeter Chiefs in their opening game in Durban. A positive home result is regarded as the bare minimum, which is why the DHL Stormers face so much jeopardy in the second round, and even a bonus point on the road is likened to striking gold, so tough is it to be successful away from home.
The Sharks do though have a team studded with marquee players, and even in the absence of the most capped Springbok Eben Etzebeth, who was concussed in last week’s game against the Chiefs, plus Vincent Koch and a few others, they have the material to pose a threat to a Leicester Tigers team that is itself laden with international players.
Double Bok World Cup winner Handre Pollard has been seen as the front of the Tigers challenge this week, and he reminded a press conference held in the buildup to the Welford Road game just how hard South Africans go at each other when they line up in opposing teams on the rugby field. Even the best of mates become sworn enemies when they go between the four white lines.
“We like playing against each other, we always go extra hard when we do,” said Pollard as he looked ahead to the clash with several of his Bok teammates, including the double World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi.
There are a lot of World Cup winners in the selection mix for the Sharks at Welford Road, where they will be up against a team that apart from Pollard also includes the world-rated hooker and Los Pumas captain, Julian Montoya, as well as the likes of England internationals Freddie Steward, Dan Cole, Ben Youngs, Jack van Poorvliet, Tommy Reffell and Mike Brown.
What was clear on the opening weekend was that teams tend to lift themselves to something akin to Test match intensity for Champions Cup games, but particularly so for home games. Leicester were away last week, where they lost to Bordeaux Begles, but Pollard and many of the other stars weren’t part of that team.
They will be on Saturday for apart from now needing the win following last week’s loss, they also know what they are up against.
“You want to measure yourself against the best in the world and that is what they are,” said Pollard of the Boks in the Sharks team.
Coach John Plumtree may have been pleased with the win over Exeter but lamented the high cost it came at as two more squad members are now on the sideline.
Still, it must be noted that the Sharks do have more depth than other SA teams, especially thanks to their much-publicised recruitment process in the past few months.
“We have suffered a number of serious injuries, and this victory is therefore probably expensive,” Plumtree said after the game."
“The loss of Vincent and James brought about changes in our defensive line. Dylan Richardson, actually a hooker, had to come up as a flanker.”
Plumtree also hailed Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s switch to eight, which saw him score twice and play some of the best rugby of his career."
“I like Siya at No 8. It gives him more time with the ball in hand. Siya is such a skilled player, intelligent, and he really understands the game. So you want to see him play with the ball as much as possible. I like him there, and he enjoys it.”
The Sharks will need to work on their discipline as a bizarre last 10 minutes saw them go down to 12 players when three yellow cards were flashed and know a similar situation could be costly this weekend as they travel to Welford Road to face Handre Pollard’s Leicester Tigers. Leicester went down 42-28 against Bordeaux Begles this past weekend to open their campaign with a loss.