The Cell C Sharks are rank underdogs as they head into their Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarterfinal against Leinster but there have been just enough shards of positivity in their games against the better teams to give them some hope to cling to.
Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell wasn’t yet the hands on coach when his team went to Leinster back in October. Sean Everitt was still in charge, and Powell was just busy getting himself reacquainted with the 15-man conventional code. He’d still been coach of the Blitzboks, the national Sevens team, just over a month earlier, and it is easy to forget how difficult his later role as hands on coach, following the departure of Everitt, must have been for him.
He was thrown into the deep end later, but that Saturday afternoon back in October he was still very much an observer as the Sharks went down 54-34 at the RDS Arena.
“What I can remember about that game is that we scored five tries against them, but I can also remember Jonny Sexton killing us and playing us out of the game in the last 20 minutes,” said Powell.
WEREN'T AT FULL STRENGTH
The Sharks weren’t at full strength that afternoon and yet they pushed Leinster for an hour. It is one of the reasons Powell has hope, as were the flashes of good play produced in more recent games against Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup and against Munster in the URC.
“We played some good rugby against Leinster the last time we were here and we have referenced that game a bit in our preparations and used it to build confidence,” said the Sharks director of rugby.
“It was not just that game, there were others where we’ve been good and showed we have the potential to put championship teams away. We were very competitive and stretched Toulouse for long periods of our Heineken Cup quarterfinal, and although it ended up being a really disappointing result, we also showed in the first half against Munster just how good we can be.
“We have shown our capabilities, what we must just do now is stretch it to a full match. I wouldn’t even say being on the ball and focused for 75 minutes against Leinster will be enough. To have a chance against them we have to be there for 80 minutes. If we can do that then we are in with a chance and we might have a semifinal to prepare for next week.”
POWELL DOESN'T REGARD THE CAMPAIGN AS OVER
With John Plumtree having been announced now as the Sharks’ head coach going forward, there’s a lot of focus on next season and the start of a new era, but Powell is adamant that this campaign is not over for the Sharks as yet.
“Look, we know how good Leinster are, and we know it will be really tough to beat them, but we are in this game to win it and we still have hopes that we can go all the way in this competition,” said Powell.
Like his Stormers counterpart John Dobson, Powell is also drawing on the challenges facing the Sharks’ support base as his team’s inspiration. Just as Dobson wants his Stormers to “make Cape Town smile”, so Powell wants the Sharks to bring some cheer to a province that has endured a horrid two years that started with the 2021 unrest and extended to a series of major floods.
“That is a big part of the motivation for us, because we live there we all know what not just the people of Durban but the whole of KwaZulu/Natal have been through. We believe that one of the reasons we do this job is to try and inspire hope in the people around us. Our region has been through a lot in the last few years so we want to do it for the people of Durban and KZN.”
BUILDING A FOUNDATION
Powell does not duck from the perception that his team has underachieved this year, but he knows an away win against mighty Leinster will provide at least a partial salve to the gaping wounds.
“If we beat Leinster here it will make up for a lot, but we haven’t met our own expectations,” he said.
“What I do think we’ve done though is create a foundation that can be built on for next season. We have this game to play and our focus is on beating Leinster, but an example of what I am talking about when I say we’ve built a foundation is young Corne Rahl getting his opportunity to play for us because of the injury to Eben Etzebeth.
“We see Corne as a massive prospect for the future and this will be a big opportunity and game for his development. I feel we are in the process now of building depth and the only way you can get experience into your playing group is to give them game time.”
At the same time, the Sharks have stuck to the continuity mantra when it comes to selection, and that is something else Powell hopes will pay off in Dublin.
“Cohesion is a big part of team sport and we saw against Scarlets what can happen when a team hasn’t played together for a while,” he said with reference to the defeat his team suffered on their last away trip in the URC.
AM A GREAT SKIPPER REPLACEMENT
With Siya Kolisi injured, the Sharks’ captaincy armband will be passed to Lukhanyo Am.
“We are fortunate to have a leader like Lukhanyo to take over from Siya. Like Siya he is a player of great standing and experience and he brings his own style of leadership that brings the best out of the players around him.”