Durban - The best way for the Sharks to get over being knocked out of the Champions Cup is to make sure they qualify for the next edition, starting on Friday by beating Benetton in Durban in their penultimate United Rugby Championship match.
The Sharks are precariously placed in eighth and need no reminding that they need to finish significantly higher to qualify for the Champions Cup next season because places must be found in the top eight quarter-finals for the Shield winners from the Italian and Welsh teams.
The Sharks finish their URC campaign against Munster who are currently seven points ahead of them on 48. Should the Sharks beat Benetton and then repeat their recent Champions Cup victory over Munster in their URC game, they could rise to 51 points, and claim fifth place which will give them an easier passage through the playoffs.
Munster just need to win one of their last two games to ensure they are out of range of the Sharks, and that is why their game against the Stormers on Saturday is so important. A win would mean the following week’s game against the Springbok-laden Sharks would be played with some of the pressure off them.
But the Stormers also have a lot to play for. Not only do they need to regain their confidence after last weekend’s disappointing loss to Exeter Chiefs, but they also need to win to make sure of a second-place finish that will enable them to have a chance of repeating last year’s feat of playing all their playoff fixtures at home.
The Stormers are at this point the only South African team sure of a place in the quarter-finals of the URC and also qualification for next season’s Champions Cup. The Cape team secured the South African Shield some time ago.
The biggest battle for the Sharks this week is a mental one. They gave their all last week in Toulouse and at the three-quarter mark were in the game. At that point they had a Grant Williams try disallowed and then the wheels came off.
To put in a top effort only to have 50 points scored against you is disheartening, and then you have to get into economy-class seats and fly back for a short-turnaround match on the Friday.
Still, the prospect of not qualifying for the Champions Cup — a competition the Sharks have focused heavily on — should be motivation enough for them to pull themselves together.
And Benetton are no slouches, especially with their big contingent of Italian national players back in their midst following a strong Six Nations performance. Last week they beat Scarlets, dare we mention the team that gave the Sharks a hiding last year although that was when the Sharks were without their Boks.
Benetton also recently beat Connacht, the Irish side that has proved problematic for the SA teams.
But a correctly focused Sharks team with all their Boks should beat Benetton in Durban with a bonus point – provided they have their eye back on the ball.
@MikeGreenaway67
IOL Sport