Eighth in URC, out of Champs Cup — it’s time for Sharks to step it up

What should one make of the Sharks’ United Rugby Championship season?

It is a question many will have asked over the course of the last few months and now again that the Sharks are in the URC playoffs, heading to Ireland for a date with the powerhouse Leinster next weekend.

It has been an interesting 2022/23 campaign: Sean Everitt was sacked and replaced by Neil Powell, a number of Springbok players were brought in for certain matches and rested for others, there were the surprise, unexpected results, the return to form of Curwin Bosch, and the horrible, concerning injuries suffered by Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi.

Also, there has been lots of talk about former coach John Plumtree returning to take charge of the side, with Powell moving back into the director of rugby role.

Big-name buys

One’s got to wonder what the fans and new owners of the Sharks think of their latest campaign.

Plenty of money was pumped into the union and players such as Kolisi, Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Francois Venter, Vincent Tshituka, Carlu Sadie, and others, were brought on board, yet the Sharks finished eighth in the URC standings after 18 games.

They won nine games — for a 50% win record and 48 log points.

In the first season of the URC, the 2021/22 season, the Sharks finished fifth, with 11 wins from their 18 games and 57 points. They lost to the Bulls in the quarter-finals.

Champions Cup

We have heard that the team were disrupted because of the Bok players having to follow national resting guidelines in this World Cup year, a possible reason for the up-and-down performances and inconsistency. But the Stormers were also impacted by national players missing out at times, yet they still finished third.

The biggest setback of the Sharks finishing eighth is the fact they will not play Champions Cup rugby next season — their spot will be taken by the Welsh Shield winners, Cardiff Rugby. The Sharks would have to win the competition to qualify, which is not impossible, but a tough ask.

The Sharks need to do plenty of work in the coming months if they’re to finally live up to their hype, and one can only hope they do get back on track because a strong Sharks team is always good for South African rugby.