The Hollywoodbets Sharks know they are still on a fairly good wicket when it comes to Investec Champions Cup round of 16 qualification, but they also realise they will be going in as heavy underdogs and have their work cut out for them when they play their final Pool game.
The Sharks are in Bordeaux to face the Bordeaux Begles on Sunday, and while a bonus point will be enough to retain their current fourth position in Pool 1, meaning they go through to the knock-out phase, or alternatively they mustn’t lose by too big a margin, they know nothing is guaranteed against a team in red hot form.
The Begles have swept all before them in the competition this season and are one point ahead of champions Toulouse on the Pool 1 log as they head into this last group game. However, the task that awaits them and the defeat at home to Toulouse last week has not dampened the Sharks’ spirit or weakened their resolve to get through to the next round.
“We are all in a really good space and our goal this week is pretty simple and straightforward - we want to go to the round of 16,” said loose-forward Phepsi Buthelezi from south-west France, where the Sharks are experiencing very different conditions to the humidity, they played in in Durban last weekend.
“It was minus two degrees today, so it is a bit of a change to us coming from hot and humid Durban,” said the flanker.
Historically the Sharks, who did beat Bordeaux in Bordeaux two seasons ago, enjoy being underdogs, and they may embrace being written off in Sunday’s game. Regardless of that, the Sharks are under no illusions about the task that awaits them.
“We know we have our work cut out for us,” said Buthelezi. “Bordeaux are a quality side, they are doing really well in the Top 14 (they top the log there too) and in the Champions Cup. They came short in last season’s Champions Cup (when they unexpectedly lost a home quarterfinal to Harlequins) and will want to rectify that. They have scored a lot of tries so we know that defensively we will have to roll up our sleeves.”
The Sharks did win in Bordeaux two years ago, but the current Bordeaux side is very different one from that one, as they have grown a lot since then and it was really only last year that they took the step up to become recognised as one of the powerhouses of French rugby, alongside Toulouse and two-time Champions Cup title holder La Rochelle.
The Sharks have several Springboks in their group and have the experienced Lukhanyo Am back but unfortunately are still without talisman Eben Etzebeth as well the important backline players Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi and Jordan Hendrikse.
So, the game will be another test of the Sharks’ depth, although they will not be going into the game as under-strength as they were when they lost heavily to Harlequins the last time they played an away game in the Champions Cup.
With a potentially tricky Vodacom United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff to come as their other game on a two-match tour, it will be important for the Sharks to pick some kind of momentum that they can take with them to Wales.
The Sharks team for the Bordeaux game will be announced on Friday.