The Hollywoodbets Sharks players and no doubt coaches too will be forgiven if they climbed onto their flight home a bit bleary eyed and hungover after they made history on Friday night so it’s a good thing for them that they have an eight day turnaround before their next mission.
The 36-22 win over Gloucester in the EPCR Challenge Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium allowed the Sharks to make up for their failure to reach the much more prestigious higher echelon Investec Champions Cup by finishing in the top half of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The Sharks couldn’t spend another season hosting the calibre of opponent presented in the secondary Challenge Cup. The star studded quality in their team requires them to be playing more challenging opponents, and in that sense Friday’s game was one of the most important they have played.In terms of getting themselves the experience required to win future more elite finals, it was a good stepping stone for them.
Masuku has brought that second ingredient, with the Sharks already looking perceptibly more potent on attack when the former Cheetahs No 10 was first introduced in the second half of a losing cause in the URC derby against the Stormers in Durban on 17 February. The achievement of winning the Challenge Cup was what it got the Sharks - qualification for the Champions Cup, Winning the competition should have been an expectation from the outset given the quality in the Sharks team compared to the other sides, with the competition effectively being between teams who did not finish in the top eight of their leagues.
The Pretoria side are currently second on the log and playing for top spot so a win at Hollywoodbets Kings Park will provide the confirmation of improvement that, frankly, a win over Gloucester or any other team in the Challenge Cup can’t do.
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