THE approach from the Sharks coaching staff is clear, yet tricky – use the United Rugby Championship (URC) to refresh the team by resting some players, but maintain the winning momentum ahead of the historic Challenge Cup semi-final in two weeks’ time.
Resting players is always good, but is it still when you risk losing that winning confidence you’ve been missing all season long?
The first test of that approach comes tomorrow night when the Sharks face the Glasgow Warriors in their URC match at Scotstoun Stadium (8.35pm kick-off, SA time), while the next one will be against the Scarlets in Wales next Friday.
Unlike the Stormers, Bulls and Lions – who have had to make serious calls in the last two weeks on whether they go for the jugular in the URC or in the European cup tournaments – the Durbanites’ poor run in the URC simply left them with one route to take: win the Challenge Cup to save their season.
The Sharks have managed four wins on the trot. Last weekend’s 36-30 Challenge Cup quarter-final triumph over Edinburgh at Kings Park followed a 47-3 win over Zebre in the Challenge Cup, and victories over Edinburgh (23-13) and Ulster (22-12) in the URC.
So, the big one for head coach John Plumtree and his management team is the Challenge Cup – and judging by what attack coach David Williams said while speaking to the media from Glasgow yesterday, there definitely will be changes in playing personnel tomorrow night from the team that beat Edinburgh last week.
“There’s a lot going for the team. The confidence of the few wins builds belief for the squad. That is the confidence you need to get them to believe in the plan, and get it right for the team. We travelled with 26 guys across here for the game (against Glasgow), so I think whatever team we put out should deliver the expectations the Sharks way,” said Williams.
“The workload, yes, may be too much for some of the guys who have played four games back-to-back, also with the pressure of the play-offs.
“It is for us to freshen the squad, but yet again deliver the same performance and building on that confidence.”
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— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) April 16, 2024
One small thorny issue, though, is that even though momentum seems to be on the side of the Sharks with four wins in a row, they all came at home in front of their fans and in “normal Durban weather”.
“Yes, we did get our first away win in the EPCR (European Professional Club Rugby) rounds against the Dragons, but it will be great with this one against Glasgow for the guys to get that win away from home,” Williams said.
“What we’ve been enjoying with the preparations for the Challenge Cup (semi-final on May 4 against Clermont in London) is that it will sort of become our home game, having been away (in Europe) for two weeks … It is going to be a great build-up to that EPCR game.
“It is actually amazing how the fixture roster has actually worked for us. Ideally, playing at home would have been great, but again to play it (the semi-final) on the back of two weeks on tour will help us build some camaraderie among the guys.
“Obviously, spending a week building up to the game in the place you are going to play in is a real advantage for us.”
After 10 URC losses and only three wins, the Sharks are languishing in 13th place, while Glasgow are trying to hang on to second place with 49 points, ahead of the Bulls in third (45).
Surely the Bulls wish the Sharks would have chosen a different approach for the Glasgow match ...