After 18 gruelling weeks, thousands of air miles later and blood, sweat, tears and jubilation, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finals are here with the Hollywoodbets Sharks hosting Munster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday evening.
In the first season of VURC action in the 2021/22 season, the Hollywoodbets Sharks finished above Munster on the final log table, both teams having won 11 matches and the Durban side closing out fifth position with the Irish one place lower in sixth.
The two teams met at Thomond Park, the Hollywoodbets Sharks having a rude awakening in the new tournament, losing 42-17 in their round one introduction to VURC.
Both sides went on to lose their quarter-finals, both local derbies with Ulster taking out Munster and the Vodacom Bulls narrowly edging the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Loftus.
The following year, Munster enjoyed their best season to date, beating the DHL Stormers in the Cape Town final to be crowned 2022/23 champions, having finished the pool stages in fifth and defeating Glasgow Warriors and Leinster away from home enroute to the final.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks, again top 8 finishers, were foiled by Leinster in Ireland in their quarter-final, while the spoils were shared when Munster visited Durban in the pool stages, the clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in April of that year ending in a 22-all draw.
The 2023/24 season saw Munster finishing top of the pile but going down to eventual champions Glasgow in the semi-finals, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks failing to make the top 8 for the only season of their four year participation.
As in season one, the two teams met in Limerick in the opening round and like before, Munster proved too strong for the visiting Hollywoodbets Sharks, sans their Springboks.
The current season saw the Durban side inflict their first defeat on Munster when the two teams met in Durban in late October last year. In fact it was one of a run of three successive victories over the three former champions – DHL Stormers and Glasgow were the other two.
That performance was a real statement of intent from the Hollywoodbets Sharks as they took a bonus point victory out of the clash, with tries from Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi and two conversions from Jaden Hendrikse to register 17 unanswered points inside the opening quarter hour – scoring more than a point a minute.
Further first half tries from Grant Williams and Andre Esterhuizen saw the Hollywoodbets Sharks take a 31-10 lead at half time, with Vincent Tshituka adding his team’s fifth in the second half as the Durban side registered a well-deserved 41-24 victory.
With Glasgow Warriors relinquishing second spot on the log to the chasing Vodacom Bulls and then third place to the Hollywoodbets Sharks when they lost their final two pool matches, the Durban side enjoyed their highest log finish in the history of their participation in the tournament, setting up their first home quarter-final (and potentially home ground advantage in the semi-finals) where they take on sixth-placed finishers Munster.
The Irish come into this knock-out having won 9 of their 18 games for a 50% success rate in the pool stages, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks won 13 of their games for a 72% win rate.
The Durban side also carry plenty of momentum and confidence into this knock-out clash, having won all four of their last games, two home and two away, while Munster’s record in the last four weeks mirrors their season stats, having won two and lost two.
With home ground advantage in their favour, the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be looking to progress further than they have before.
Two proud teams throwing everything at each other.
Bring it on!
