The rescheduling of the clash between the Sharks and Ulster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday has plenty of extra edge, according to GAVIN RICH.
The Sharks were set to host Ulster at Kings Park in round 6 of the URC, which would have been preceded by the match between the Lions and Glasgow Warriors at Ellis Park.
However, due to gastroenteritis infections it was not possible for Ulster or Glasgow to field full playing squads and the two matches were postponed, rather than cancelled.
At the time, Sharks owner Marco Masotti tweeted: “Is this a joke? Must be. Is this a professional sports league? Has this happened in other professional sports leagues? Maybe darts, curling, or pickleball? Just give us the points.”
The Sharks also had all their Boks available and off-field, had really invested in an impressive fan zone and stadium experience as well.
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Given that the Durbanites can lift themselves to fifth if they win on Saturday, which will put them on the cusp of challenging for a top-four place and home-ground advantage in the playoffs, Rich suggested in his SuperSport column that Neil Powell’s troops have a bone to pick with Ulster.
“The Ulster game was going to be the occasion when the Durban faithful got to see their new team at full strength for the first time. And it coincided with a Fans Day at the Kings Park complex, with the unveiling of the Sharks’ riches set to be accompanied by much razzmatazz,” he writes.
“The Sharks lost a lot because the game never took place when it should have – there were reports in the media at the time that they’d spent millions of rands around the planned entertainment for the day and that money was wasted.
“You could also argue that the game not being played then might have had an even more profound impact on how the Sharks’ season has gone.
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“For instance, had they won against Ulster in Durban, and had the fringe players in that game had the opportunity to get game time, the calamitous defeat to Cardiff that later cost Sean Everitt his job as coach might not have happened. The momentum of the Sharks’ season might have been completely different.
“[Sharks centre Rohan] Janse van Rensburg says the team hasn’t spoken about it this week, but there is another reason why the Sharks should feel they owe Ulster one – it was against them at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast last year that the Sharks’ quest for a top-four place was ended in the final game of the league stage.
“A fairly comfortable Ulster win meant the Sharks had to go to Pretoria for their quarter-final instead of hosting a game at Kings Park.”
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