Sharks captain Etzebeth hails ‘fantastic’ turnaround to win Challenge Cup

Sharks stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth has hailed his team for turning their season around and winning the European Challenge Cup in London on Friday night.

The Sharks beat Gloucester 36-22 in the final to become South Africa’s first winner of a European club rugby trophy.

Etzebeth, who led the team in the absence of the injured Lukhanyo Am, said the win was a “silver lining” following their poor form in the United Rugby Championship, which has seen them win just four times in 17 matches.

‘Special victory’

“The motivation (to win) was more within the team,” said Etzebeth.

“To turn things around the way we did after where we were four or five months ago, was fantastic. There was a big drive to win the Challenge Cup as a silver lining to our season, which hasn’t been great.

“If you told us at the start of the season that we would win the Challenge Cup and qualify for the Champions Cup, we would have taken it.

“The victory was special, and it felt as though we left our best performance for last. The guys were just incredible, and the physicality was great.”

With the win the Sharks will play in next season’s top-tier Champions Cup competition.

‘Best memory’

Commenting on the importance of the victory, Etzebeth said: “At club level this is by far the best memory. The last championship I won (at club level) was the Currie Cup in 2012, so it’s been 12 years.

“This is the first international trophy the Sharks have won and to become the first South African to win in Europe is definitely one of my best memories ever.”

The win was laid by a powerful forward performance, with the Sharks’ scrum particularly destructive, winning several penalties throughout the 80 minutes. And with Grant Williams and Siya Masuku controlling things at the back, the Sharks simply over-powered Gloucester.

The Sharks’ defence was also impressive, especially in the early stages when Gloucester camped in Sharks territory and won several penalties in a row, which also saw Aphelele Fassie yellow-carded, but the English side could find no way to the tryline. The Sharks then ran away with the match in the second half.

‘Credit to guys for sticking to plan’

Coach John Plumtree was delighted with the performance.

“We wanted to apply a lot of pressure up-front because we knew it would probably be their strength, so by taking that away, we knew we would have a good chance.

“I thought the scrum was outstanding, and the front row’s drive was very good, and they earned the rewards for it. So was the pressure game from our kicking game.

“A lot of it was based around scoreboard pressure, which we had to keep building on, and credit to the guys for sticking to the plan.”

The Sharks have one game remaining in the current season against the Bulls in the URC next Saturday.