Ulster’s interim coach Richie Murphy will have Ireland international lock Iain Henderson to call on during his team’s tour of South Africa but the portents out of Durban suggest his men could be in for a challenging time against a Hollywoodbets Sharks team that should feel it owes them one.
To refresh memories, it was Ulster who pulled out of a Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash that the Sharks had put a lot into on the eve of the match because of a mystery stomach virus in late October 2022.
It was a game that coincided with a Sharks Fan Day, and it was also supposed to be the game that would see the Sharks unveil their full strength team for the first time since a clutch of big name signings.
Although there was no doubt there was illness in the Ulster camp, there was a feeling at the Sharks, which indeed was shared by some people quite high up in South African rugby like the then director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, that Ulster should have drawn in their reserve resources, meaning from their academy if need be, in order to fulfil their commitment.
There were calls for the Irish province to be made to concede the win, but that did not happen, and Ulster returned a few months later to score a narrow win over the Durban team.
Whereas the Sharks would have been at full strength in October, they were without some of their international players when Ulster did come to town in March due to Springbok resting protocols.
CALAMITOUS OUTCOME
It may have been a more calamitous outcome for the Sharks than many realise. The next game the Sharks played after the Ulster postponement was against Cardiff.
Had the Sharks built up some confidence by beating Ulster, they might have been better prepared in that game, which they lost by a wide margin, thus costing Sean Everitt, now in charge of Edinburgh, his job.
The Ulster win in Durban arguably also cost the DHL Stormers, who ended up being pipped by a narrow margin by Ulster in the race for second place on the log, although the Stormers did end up making the final anyway, partly helped by Ulster being upset by Connacht in their home URC quarterfinal (and Munster of course beating Leinster).
The @Vodacom #URC is back in action 🙌
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 19, 2024
Which fixture are you most looking forward to? đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/7ywb1X1KSc
EBEN DISAPPOINTED
But having a score to settle wasn't what Sharks kingpin Eben Etzebeth was referring to when this week he called for a lift in physicality from his fellow forwards in Saturday’s match at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
Rather it was the Springbok double World Cup winners expression of disappointment at how the season has gone so far for his team.
“There will always be tweaks to the plan for every weekend as all opposition are different and gone are the days when you just focus on your own plan and just think about yourself and what you are going to do,” said Etzebeth in looking ahead to the game.
“We have a plan which has had minor changes every week. We have tried things that didn’t work. It is not a player or coach thing, as a union we just need to be better. We need to step up in the physicality department most of all. We haven’t been great in the set piece and we have been letting the Sharks supporters down with what we have been producing on match day.
“We can be a lot more physical than we have been at the weekend,” he added.
NEED TO START A WINNING RUN
The Sharks definitely need some momentum so they can restore some pride by lifting themselves away from their current position at the bottom of the leg.
“You can only get momentum if you win. We need to get one under the belt against Ulster and then go from there. Too often this season we have won and then lost the next game. We have three home games in a row, hopefully four if we win our Challenge Cup knock-out game, but we are not looking past the Ulster game. We are taking it week by week and know we need to start fighting back. It’s not nice being bottom of the log but that is the reality of the season.”
While Ulster’s tied fourth position with Edinburgh and fellow Irish province Munster is a way better position to be in than the Sharks are in, the men from Belfast have had their own upheaval recently, with their long serving coach Dan McFarland being sacked in midseason after a string of poor results.
MURPHY WANTS TO TAKE NEW DIRECTION
Murphy has stepped in as coach for the rest of the season and will be able to call on the services of Ireland Six Nations-winning players Henderson, Stuart McCloskey and Tom O’Toole, none of whom played much part in that triumph, as part of a 30-strong squad for the South African tour which features a game against the Stormers after the one in Durban.
Another Ireland international, wing Jacob Stockdale, has not been included in the group for undisclosed reasons, though the Irish media have speculated that it might have something to do with the fact that his wife recently gave birth.
A player Etzebeth, and for that matter the Stormers the following week, will know well is Springbok prop and former Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff.
Settling in đź‘Š
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) March 19, 2024
@RichieMurphy100 pic.twitter.com/d4gdY1ae76
Murphy says he hopes “little changes will make big impacts” as he tries to take Ulster in what he describes as “in a new direction”.
If the Sharks are finally on their game, Durban might just be a tough place for him to start with that new direction.
🇿🇦 South Africa Tour
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) March 19, 2024
We can confirm the 30-player squad that will take on the Sharks and Stormers over the next two weekends đź‘Š
ULSTER SQUAD FOR GAMES AGAINST SHARKS AND STORMERS
Props: Steven Kitshoff, Andrew Warwick, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Scott Wilson
Hookers: Tom Stewart, John Andrew, Rob Herring
Locks: Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson, Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu
Back row: Matty Rea, David McCann, Nick Timoney, Marcus Rea, Sean Reffell
Scrum halves: John Cooney, Dave Shanahan, Nathan Doak
Fly halves: Billy Burns, Jake Flannery
Centres: Jude Postlethwaite, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Stewart Moore
Back three: Mike Lowry, Ethan McIlroy, Robert Baloucoune, Will Addison