Sharks in scrap to make URC top 8, but Powell says team can go all the way

The Sharks are not short of confidence, despite their playoff hopes hanging in the balance with two rounds remaining in the United Rugby Championship.

The Durbanites head into the final two rounds of the URC in eighth place, a precarious position to be in with Benetton, Cardiff and the Lions no more than five points adrift.

That makes Friday night’s game against Benetton at Kings Park so much more crucial as a bonus-point win would put the Sharks six points clear of the Italians which could effectively end the Italians’ playoff challenge.

‘Must-win’ for Sharks

However, that is easier said than done as Benetton have travelled to South Africa with a squad stacked with Italian internationals.

“It is a must-win two weeks for us,” Sharks coach Neil Powell told the media on Thursday. “It is the same for Benetton to keep them in a run for the playoffs. They will come with everything they have. They have their Italy internationals with them and are playing a good brand of rugby.

“We understand how important this game is for them, but it’s the same for us. We can finish anywhere from fifth to eighth. The guys are really keen to be successful and give ourselves the best chance of going into the Champions Cup [next season] and URC quarter-finals.”

‘We can win URC’

While the Sharks will resume their URC campaign on the back of a quarter-final loss away to Toulouse, Powell still believes his side is capable of winning the tournament.

“We were hoping to win against Toulouse and get into the [Champions Cup] semis. We still believe we can go all the way in the URC, and have the squad to do it.

“If we get into the quarter-finals, we know we will play all the playoffs away. We only have two more games guaranteed against Benetton and Munster. We saw against Toulouse, that playing away in a knockout game is tough.

“We want to give ourselves the best opportunity to play for the cup.”

Powell added that he feels the Sharks are starting to pick up momentum, going into the most crucial period of the season.

“This is only the third game since the Springboks have returned. We haven’t seen the best of this team and there were a lot of positives in the Toulouse game. We are building momentum. We know there are kinks to fix, especially with our defence and we did speak about it.

“We are getting momentum and, hopefully, keep that towards the end of the season. We do believe we can get ourselves into a URC final.”

This story first appeared on sarugbymag.co.za. It has been republished here with permission.