The Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Benetton in Durban this weekend will see the visitors in a desperate mood, but for the hosts there is likely to be a bit of a quandary being faced down by their coach John Plumtree.
The Sharks completed their most important immediate mission when they beat Clermont-Aurvergne in an exciting EPCR Challenge Cup semifinal in London last weekend. For them, all focus must now be on the final of that competition at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 24 May, as the Challenge Cup title is their only route into next season’s Investec Champions Cup.
So what does Plumtree do? This weekend’s game won’t make any material difference to the Sharks’ URC outlook. It is mathematically impossible for them to make the top eight. The Sharks emphasised their concentration on the knock-out cup competition when they fielded a completely second-string team against Glasgow Warriors at the start of their recent overseas tour.
However, a home game is different to an away game, particularly a game overseas. In the sense that you have paying spectators to satisfy, and the Sharks will want to draw in a big crowd to Hollywoodbets Sharks on Saturday for a game against an Italian team that has done well this season, has an international flavour to it when at full strength and is in the URC top eight.
The Challenge Cup semifinal, where the Sharks were outplayed in the first half and only remained in the contest due to Clermont's indiscipline, also showed that there are plenty of areas the Sharks need to work on. The next two URC games, with Cardiff due to visit the following weekend, are the opportunity to work on aspects of their game like the lineouts and defence, and even the scrums, which were disappointing against the French team.
WILL WANT TO RETAIN MOMENTUM
Plumtree will want his team to retain momentum ahead of the final, so it is likely that while he may safeguard his arsenal for the 24 May decider by managing star players such as Eben Etzebeth and Bongi Mbonambi, with Etzebeth having carried a big load this season, the selection for this game will be more mix and match than a second-string team.
At the same time, there were players who played at the Scotstoun three weeks ago that impressed and might have earned another run in front of their home fans. Certainly, although they were defeated by Glasgow, the Sharks provided a good advertisement of their growing depth in that game.
Saturday’s game could have been an appetiser for the Challenge Cup final, but Benetton were beaten in their semifinal against Gloucester so the Sharks will be playing the English club instead. For Benetton, it is the start of a make-or-break tour.
After being in the top four for most of the first half of the season, their hold on a top-eight position, which means playoff and Champions Cup qualification, is a tenuous one. They face the Vodacom Bulls at Fortress Loftus the week after the Sharks game, so the Italians will most likely be targeting the Durban game in the hope that they can do what the Welsh team, the Ospreys, did in Cape Town recently by pulling off a shock win at the coast to give themselves a buffer when they go to altitude.
HOME WIN WILL BENEFIT OTHER SA TEAMS
With Benetton still in with a shout of grabbing a top-four spot, a Sharks win will benefit the Bulls and most particularly the Stormers, who are just one point ahead of them on the log.
Benetton arrived in Durban on Tuesday with a 32-man squad that included three South African players who will play a leading role. That includes star utility back Rhyno Smith, who was the impact player for the Sharks during the Robert du Preez era as coach.
Veteran scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage will know Durban well after playing there so often with the Stormers and Western Province, while Eli Snyman is a co-captain. Additional leading players include prop Simone Ferrari, looseforwards Sebastian Negri and Alessandro Izekor, plus flyhalf Jacob Umaga.
However, the tourists have been weakened by the injuries that have prevented centre Malakai Fekitoa, prop Thomas Gallo, lock Marco Lazzaroni and veteran front-rower Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro from flying to South Africa.