The Hollywoodbets Sharks will be looking to become the first South African side to win a coveted European Professional Club Rugby title when they face Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday.
The Durban franchise have endured a strange old season, with success in the Challenge Cup coming at the expense of URC performances. Winning this competition, however, offers John Plumtree’s men a shot at qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup.
Meanwhile, Gloucester have had to deal with their own issues this season. They finished second-bottom of the Premiership (only in front of winless Newcastle) and copped a 90-point pasting at the hands of Northampton.
Seasonal success for both teams rests on the result of Friday evening’s encounter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Shaun Goosen previews.
To Win Match
Sharks 63/100 | Draw 21/1 | Gloucester 27/20
Handicap
Sharks (-3.5) 17/20 | Gloucester (+3.5) 17/20
Despite their lacklustre showings in this season’s United Rugby Championship, John Plumtree’s troops stand on the precipice of achieving something very special indeed. The EPCR Challenge Cup, effectively rugby’s equivalent of football’s UEFA Europa League, is a prestigious prize in the European game, with many club rugby powerhouses having claimed the title in years past.
Not only is it a major piece of silverware in its own right, but winning it guarantees participation in next season’s Champions Cup. So, will Friday’s showdown in London be the Durban franchise’s post-Super Rugby coming of age?
It looks that way.
Plenty has been invested in the setup at the Tank over the past few years with the aim of becoming a club rugby juggernaut à la a Leinster or Saracens. Even without the services of injured skipper Lukhanyo Am and Bok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, the team’s plethora of World Cup-winning internationals should guide them to victory.
With so much experience and quality in the Sharks’ camp, it will be a massive surprise if they don’t find a way to win. Not that Gloucester are to be underestimated by any means.
George Skivington’s side have already won one cup competition this season in the form of the Premiership Rugby Cup and boast real quality in players like captain Lewis Ludlow, British & Irish Lion centre Chris Harris and Argentina fullback Santi Carreras. They’re also two-time champions of the competition following triumphs in 2006 and 2015.
The fact is though that the Cherry and Whites’ tight five will find it difficult to contain a front row consisting of monsters like Vincent Koch, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche, ably supported by captain-on-the-day Eben Etzebeth from the rear. When those boys fire, there aren’t many Test, let alone club teams that can handle them, and Gloucester’s pack of forwards will have to play the game of their lives to match them at the contact point.
Couple that with the talent of pivot and goal-kicking extraordinaire Siya Masuku behind them and they’ll be tough to stop.
Verdict: Sharks (-3.5) 17/20
It may not be by much, but the Sharks have the perfect mix of experience and in-form players to claim their first title in John Plumtree’s second stint this weekend.
