John Plumtree Sharks coach John Plumtree, seen here with Jordan Hendrikse during training this week, will hope for a better display against Leinster. Photo: Steve Haag Sports
Image: Steve Haag Sports
The Sharks have not lost at Kings Park this season in the United Rugby Championship, but their fortress will be under heavy siege from Irish giants Leinster on Saturday (7.15pm kick-off).
The only match the Sharks have lost in Durban was against Antoine Dupont’s classy Toulouse side, while the three teams to have won the URC – the Stormers, Munster and Glasgow – have all perished at the Shark Tank, as have twice finalists the Bulls.
This home record has played a big role in the Sharks’ healthy position on the URC log – they are fourth on 45 points, and just one behind the Bulls and five behind the second-placed Warriors.
Leinster are streets ahead of everyone on 59, but if the Sharks can beat them on Saturday, they will keep the pressure on the Bulls and Glasgow as these three teams compete for the runner-up position on the log and the home play-off comforts that go with it.
How the Sharks will be cheering for the Lions on Friday night when they play the Warriors in Glasgow and for Zebre when they visit the Bulls on Saturday…
The Sharks needed to beat Zebre last week to give them momentum going into the Leinster match, and although the Sharks’ performance was patchy in the 35-34 win, that is not a bad thing because it was a reminder that they are miles from being the finished article.
While Leinster haven’t brought their Six Nations players, they showed against the Bulls that there is no such thing as a weak Leinster side.
Jake White was right when he said Leinster don’t have a B team, and it took a last-minute David Kriel penalty to give the full-strength Bulls the win. And this was on their home ground.
At this stage, it is uncertain whether Leinster have called up reinforcements.
You would think they would want to bolster their front-row stocks after the Bulls monstered them in the scrums to give the Sharks a tip on where to attack the Irishmen.
Leinster coach Leo Cullen would be loath to send too many stars to Durban, because a big focus for his team is their upcoming Champions Cup round of 16 match against Harlequins in Dublin.
Whatever Leinster’s viewpoint, this is a massive game for the Sharks ahead of a potential sequence of six games across both the URC and the Challenge Cup.
The Sharks are in the market for silverware in both competitions, but the URC title is the big one for John Plumtree.
If the Sharks keep winning over the next month or so, he will have the dilemma of whether to concentrate on URC glory and rest some of his players from the travel that goes with the Challenge Cup, or go for broke in both.
After the Leinster game, the Sharks next week travel to Lyon for a Challenge Cup round of 16 game in Lyon, and two weeks after that, they have a fortnight of away games against Edinburgh and Ulster.
If they beat Lyon, they could stay overseas for the quarter-final and then play Edinburgh and Ulster.
That would make it a four-match overseas tour, and they return to Durban for easier URC games against the Ospreys and Scarlets.
It is setting up nicely for the Sharks, but first, they must get over the mighty hurdle posed by Leinster.