Sharks have plenty to prove despite best ever URC campaign

The Sharks have got plenty to prove, despite producing their best ever campaign in the United Rugby Championship (URC), and a strong run in the competition playoffs will certainly be a good start.

Ever since Marco Masotti’s US based MVM Holdings took over the Sharks back in 2021, massive funding and a slew of Springbok signings turned the union into the glamour franchise of South African rugby.

However, success did not immediately follow, and although the Sharks have remedied that with a couple of trophies over the past year, it is still a far cry from what is expected of them from fans and pundits alike, as they have underperformed in the biggest tournaments.

Winning the second tier Challenge Cup as well as the Currie Cup last year was certainly welcome for a team with as much funding and star power as the Sharks, but the URC and Champions Cup are what they are really measured on, and based on that so far, they have come up short.

This season is the first that the Sharks are hosting a URC quarterfinal, for finishing in the top four on the log at the end of the pool phase.

In season one they finished fifth, in season two eighth and season three was an unmitigated disaster, finishing an embarrassing 14^th, which is why winning the Challenge Cup was so important in saving face.

They have only featured in two editions of the pinnacle of Northern Hemisphere franchise rugby, the Champions Cup, with them making the quarterfinals first time, and not making it out of their pool the second, but with all SA sides still trying to navigate the competition they aren’t the only underperformers.

Disappointing URC

The URC is the competition that they should be most disappointed with how they have performed in, as they have never made it past the quarterfinals.

The Stormers, who have far less funding and not as many star names, have won the competition and made two finals, while the Bulls, who are the only SA franchise that can challenge the Sharks in funds and recruitment, are two-time finalists.

This URC season is thus the Sharks golden opportunity to start shaking off that underperformer tag, and start proving that they are one of the Galactico’s of franchise rugby, especially with them boasting a roster featuring Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Andre Esterhuizen and Lukhanyo Am amongst others.

They have done their first job, finishing third on the URC log and hosting a knockout, but now they have to back that up by defeating Irish giants Munster to progress to the semifinals.

That could set them up with a blockbuster semi against Highveld rivals the Bulls at Loftus, or could even see them host another knockout, if Scottish side Edinburgh upset the odds this weekend.

But the Sharks goal should be firmly on making the URC final, and if they can get to that stage, anything can happen, as has been proven over the past three seasons.