OPINION: Sharks finally on course to be serious URC title contenders

Sure, they won the Challenge Cup last season – the second-tier European cup competition – but I’m sure if you had to ask coach John Plumtree and the players, and even big boss Marco Masotti, what the Sharks would like most, they’d say the top-tier Champions Cup.

That, however, is not going to happen this season, because the Sharks have already been booted out of the competition, but after that, and possibly at the start of every season, the next big goal is to win the United Rugby Championship trophy.

In football terms, winning the URC title is like winning the league … while the Champions Cup would be the Champions League, and in England, the Challenge Cup might be like winning the FA Cup or Carabao Cup.

SA teams in good position

Well, after a few lean seasons, watching the Stormers and Bulls do their thing in the URC, winning and playing in finals, the Sharks might, finally, just be getting themselves into a position to properly challenge for the trophy this season.

They have snuck into fourth place on the 16-team points table, with six wins from nine matches for 29 points, and they have a game in hand on the first and second placed teams, namely Leinster (48) and Glasgow (37).

In third are the Bulls, with 30 points, and they have two games in hand on the two leading teams, so there could be quite a bit of moving up down the upper part of log in the next few rounds.

But the good news is the Sharks, finally, look like a team that could go on and win the title. They’ve had their ups and downs since Masotti took over, and following luring several big-name Springbok players and other rising stars to Durban.

They’ve not nearly performed as well as they should have, considering their player pool, but recent wins against Glasgow, the Stormers, Bulls, Munster and Cardiff Rugby (at the weekend) suggest the Sharks are finding their groove … and about time.

In fact, with the Stormers (12th) and Lions (13th) also having games in hand on all the Europe-based team, things are not looking too bad for the South African sides in the URC in general.