There is every reason for the Hollywoodbets Sharks management team and players to feel irritated at themselves as they face up to the reality that instead of progressing to the Investec Champions Cup round of 16 they have once again been condemned to finishing the EPCR season in the Challenge Cup.
The Sharks failed to advance to the elite competition playoffs even though they won two of their four pool games, which is normally enough. Their South African rivals, the Vodacom Bulls, are through after winning just one game in their group. Yet the Sharks shouldn’t complain, because they were the authors of their own demise.
Given how mediocre the Sale Sharks team that beat them in Manchester in their third round game was, the Sharks just needed to strengthen their team slightly and they would probably have won. With Clermont-Auvergne, who the Sharks beat 50-12 in their last pool game at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, always likely to come with a second string team, the seven day turnaround should have been enough to give them a good chance of winning both games.
With the Sharks having the marquee players that should be able to go deep into the elite European competition, their decision to go under-strength to Manchester was a grave error and this is not drawing on the perfect science of hindsight - it was a concern expressed when the Sharks team for the Sale game was announced.
But with the need to preserve their elite Champions Cup status for next season perhaps now becoming their main focus, perhaps there was method in the madness. The Sharks need to finish in the top eight on the final Vodacom URC log to qualify, and they are currently 14th.
It does look like the Sharks have been saving their big guns for the next two weeks, when they go back to back against the DHL Stormers, in home and away coastal derbies.
And in that sense, there was plenty for the Sharks to feel pleased about after the win over Clermont, for as their coach JP Pietersen noted, it has been a long time since the Sharks have put away a team like they did to Clermont. Yes, it was a second string Clermont team, but then the Sharks were far from full strength themselves and can look back at the game as a good depth growing exercise.
“What was really good to see today is that we put a team away. That’s something we’ve struggled with in the past. We’ve won games but we’ve struggled to finish them off,” said the former Springbok wing.
“Today, in the last 10 or 15 minutes, we were ruthless, and that’s something we want to keep building on. This was a good confidence game for us. It gave us belief that our game model works. As a coaching staff, we still need to review honestly and look at how we can get better, because at the next level you’re playing a different class of team.”
They will be up against a different class of team next weekend as the Stormers team that beat Leicester Tigers 39-26 is likely to be significantly strengthened for the Cape Town clash as Boks like Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach, plus fullback Warrick Gelant, defence organiser and leadership figure Ruhan Nel, locks Salmaan Moerat and Adre Smith plus prop Sazi Sandi come back into the selection mix.
But the Sharks will also be welcoming back the likes of Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Edwill van der Merwe, Grant Williams and Siya Kolisi and in that sense the way the Sharks would have grown their depth with the win over Clermont will be a good thing.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us from here as the Stormers are a quality side who’ve been playing together for a long time and they know exactly how they want to play,” said Pietersen
“They’ve shown over the last few seasons how consistent they are, especially in the URC, and they’re very strong at home and away. So for us, it’s another big challenge.
"This win gives us confidence and belief, but we also know the Stormers will test us physically and mentally. We’ll have to front up again, improve in certain areas, and make sure we’re ready for two tough derby games.
“That’s where we want to be as a group – playing against the best and measuring ourselves. The Stormers set a good standard and that’s what we’re working towards,” he added.