With no game scheduled for the next three weeks, the coming days will be relatively stress free and peaceful ones for the Cell C Sharks as they go about their work, but it will be the calm before the storm.
The Sharks’ 31 unanswered points in the second half against Connacht at the weekend ensured that they went level with Munster and the DHL Stormers in second place on the overall Vodacom United Rugby Championship log with one game to play, with Munster just ahead of the two South African teams on points difference.
When it comes to the fight for the South African Shield it could not be closer than it is right now. Both the coastal teams have 56 points, both have the same points differential of 148, and the only reason the Sharks are ahead of the Stormers right now is because of one solitary try. Try count is the next method of separating the teams after points differential, and the Sharks have 57 to the Stormers’ 56.
However, the Shield won’t be uppermost in their minds when they run out at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast for their final league match of the 2021/2022 season on Friday, 20 May. Just beating Ulster on their home ground is going to be a hard enough task for the Sharks, and there is enough of a reward for just winning the game - they will be assured of a top-four spot, meaning a home quarterfinal.
WIN BY ANY SCORE WILL BE ENOUGH
Whether they can end second, and thus secure a possible home semifinal too, will depend on what the Stormers do against the Scarlets the next day and then on the number of points Munster manage to pick up in the last game of the regular season between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium.
The chances of Munster upsetting Leinster, something they don’t do often and particularly not at the Aviva Stadium, could depend on what happens in the next two weeks. Both teams are set to play Champions Cup quarterfinals this coming weekend, and the potential semifinals follow a week later.
The last round of the URC just happens to be wedged in between the Champions Cup semifinals and the final. If Leinster are involved in the European final, with the big reward that comes with it, the fact that they are already assured of top spot in the URC, and don’t have anything to play for, could see them field their alternative team against Munster like they did against the Sharks and Stormers.
We know now that there is not really such a thing as a Leinster B team, but Leinster going understrength in preparation for the European final might just give Munster an opportunity they don’t otherwise have. The Sharks are disadvantaged in comparison to the Stormers and Munster by the fact they play a day earlier. The other two teams will know what they are chasing.
The permutations for the Sharks though are easy to figure out: They can’t finish lower than sixth, and only Ulster and the Bulls can remove them from the top four. So, a win of any kind against Ulster will guarantee a place in the top four. And that will be the first priority of the Sharks as they head to one of the URC’s most difficult away venues.
Ulster are currently one point behind the Sharks, so a win for the Sharks will knock Ulster out of the top-four equation, and the Bulls can’t catch the Sharks if the Sharks win.
WILLIAMS AND KOK TICKED SOME BOXES
The good news for the Sharks of course is that Lukhanyo Am will be back from Japan to bring his X-factor, although it must be said that Werner Kok did a good job when he was switched to outside centre in the second-half rampage against Connacht at the weekend. With scrumhalf Grant Williams doing well when he deputised on the wing, it provided a few more ticks for coach Sean Everitt as the plan starts to come together at just the right time for his team.
“Werner has played some of his best rugby at 13, particularly against the British and Irish Lions last year, it is just that at the moment we feel he is playing really well at wing,” said Everitt.
“Grant can play wing as he is an electric player with quick feet and that’s why we can do the 6-2 split on the bench (between forwards and backs).”
The forward dominated bench has become more important for the Sharks as they have become more forward dominated in playing style in recent months. But that is not to say that there isn’t flair at the back. While the Sharks eventually took control of the Connacht game through the performance of their pack, the X-factor of Aphelele Fassi was also an instrumental game-changer, just like he was with the run that set up a try on the stroke of halftime against Leinster the previous week.
“Fassi is really dangerous from the back, and when you add the likes of Makazole Mapimpi, that is a good mix for us. I am really glad the second half was better against Connacht as there were a lot of people who came to watch us play. Things didn’t go our way in the first half. It was strange. There were a lot of penalties, and not a lot of ball in play, so it was difficult for the players to get rhythm.”
Everitt doesn’t need to be reminded that a slow start against Ulster is unlikely to leave his team with a way back, so the focus over the next three weeks will be to get the players prepared to play for a full 80 minutes. The prize for success is a big one - a home quarterfinal.