Rugby attention shifts this weekend back to the Investec Champions Cup with the second batch of fixtures, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks travelling to England to take on Sale Sharks in Manchester on Saturday.
Both teams come into this match having won one of their two matches to date, the Hollywoodbets Sharks beating Saracens and Sale defeating Clermont, both in round two.
For eighthman Nick Hatton, this is a game that offers his team an element of redemption after a last-gasp loss to the Lions last week, and an opportunity to not only showcase their abilities, but to turn self-belief into success.
“This is an exciting challenge and opportunity for the group, we know the conditions are going to be very different to what we’re used to in Durban, and obviously a different tournament, which makes the Investec Champions Cup so special, travelling to Europe to play.”
Their namesake currently sits in seventh place in the English Premiership with three wins from their nine fixtures to date, all secured at their Corpacq Stadium home ground, and while home wins are a necessity, picking up points away from home is gold.
“We see this as an awesome opportunity to fight for an away win,” Hatton admitted. “We value this competition and want to put our best foot forward on Saturday.”
Not only do the teams share a common name, but the likes of Hyron Andrews, Jacques Vermeulen, Dan du Preez and brother Rob all made the move north, having previously played their rugby out of Durban and now representing the Manchester side.
“Sale is a strong side, especially at home,” Hatton explained, “but we’ve taken our learnings from last weekend’s result against the Lions.
“It was obviously bitterly disappointing to find ourselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, but it was that one moment in the 80th minute that separated us.
“So we have taken lessons from that game, we’ve had some good prep, and we're looking forward to putting our best foot forward as a group.
“It’s not going to be easy, but we believe we can do something over there; that’s the mindset.
“We believe we’re on the right track, and we want to improve our game and keep improving, and hopefully that will get us on the right side of a result in Sale.”