The Sharks face a tough quarter-final trip to Dublin after letting a 19-point lead slip in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship final-round stalemate with Munster in Durban on Saturday.
A 22-22 draw at Kings Park sees the Sharks finish the round-robin campaign in eighth place, which will not be enough for the Durban side to retain their place in the Champions Cup next season.
An eighth-place finish also means the Sharks will have to travel to Dublin to face Leinster in the Vodacom URC quarter-finals.
To add further concern, the hosts lost both captain Siya Kolisi and flyhalf Curwin Bosch to knee injuries in the first half.
Munster, meanwhile, finished their South African coastal tour unbeaten. The draw temporarily lifts the Irish side above the Vodacom Bulls into fifth place, with Connacht still to face Glasgow Warriors on Saturday night.
The Sharks will be wondering how it all went wrong as they were in command of the match at half time, taking a 19-3 lead into the break thanks to tries from Bongi Mbonambi, Werner Kok and Sikhumbuzo Notshe.
Bongi Mbonambi powers through the Munster defence for his fourth try of the season ?
The Cell C Sharks lead in Durban ?
Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/MnOA2sBVpT
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That quickly became a 22-3 lead in the second half when Boeta Chamberlain slotted a long-range penalty, but the playmaker went from hero to villain when he sent an attempted touchline-finder beyond the dead-ball line. He then failed to gather the ball when Calvin Nash had chipped it ahead, allowing the Munster wing to score and get the visitors back into the contest.
From there, scrums aside, the game was dominated by Munster, who levelled matters when Conor Murray dotted down from close range. The visitors can count themselves unlucky to have missed out on a late winner as they were denied when the ball was held up over the tryline by desperate Sharks defenders.
Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images