Rare success was achieved for a South African side on their two-match tour to Scotland and Ireland as the Hollywoodbets Sharks returned home with back-to-back victories and eight valuable log points ahead of the final rounds before the knock-outs.
With two pool games left to play, the Durban side have already locked in a top eight finish, but it’s the top four that means everything. Home ground advantage in the quarter and semi-finals is the goal, and currently in fourth place on 53 log points, seven ahead of Cardiff and five behind the third-placed Vodacom Bulls, the final two rounds are going to be massive in the fight for the finish.
Although they had to come from behind in both tour matches, Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree was thrilled with the resolve his side showed to hang in there, and the fight to win difficult games.
“We were proud to come out of the Edinburgh game on top, it was a game that wasn’t going our way, but we stayed close enough in terms of the scoreboard to get the job done.
“The Ulster game was another great test for us around our ability to hang in the fight and then close it out when we’re in contention for the win.”
While having the composure and fight to win close games is admirable, Plumtree conceded that being dominant for longer periods of time will be crucial if the Hollywoodbets Sharks hope to go all the way in the competition.
Kingspan Stadium in Belfast is an unwelcoming place, particularly for South African teams where, before the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ 22-19 victory on Saturday evening, not one local side had never tasted success.
“We were the first South African side to win there, it’s a difficult place to visit, it was wet, the crowd was pretty tribal and the intensity was up there, so we were pretty happy to come away with a win,” he said.
“The big thing for us is that we know how difficult it is to win VURC games away, it’s shown in the results. We might have come in for some criticism, but we’re always looking to improve, whether we win by one point or 20.
“People need to be a bit patient with us, it’s been a difficult season with injuries, there have been challenges around continuity in selection, but we have players coming back at the right time, and if you compare us to a Hollywoodbets horse, I’d say we won by a nose, but we know the Kentucky Derby is in a few weeks time and we want to win that race!
“We want to build, get that horse fitter, train it hard and get across the line where it wins by four or five lengths, and not by a nose.”
With two home games remaining before the knock-outs, a pair of victories will push the Hollywoodbets Sharks closer to their title ambitions, and what better reward than a home quarter-final and home semi.
“We know we need to win the last two games if we want to push hard for a top two spot, but you narrow that down to winning every day and then winning on the weekend and getting the job done.
“We have our goals, we have our strengths but we also have some weaknesses and it’s all around wanting to be better every week. So it doesn’t matter if we win by one or 20, our desire is always to be better.
“There have been difficulties around preparing the team, it hasn’t been the easiest season having players injured at crucial times of the year. But we’re here, we have the team we want and it’s really up to us to make sure we go out there and perform and get the win. That’s all we focus on.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks close out their pool commitments in the final two rounds, hosting Ospreys on Friday 9 May and Scarlets the following Saturday in successive matches at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and the following point can’t be stressed enough: these games matter.
The team motto will be ‘Winning is not negotiable’.
