The Cell C Sharks arrived in Belfast late on Monday ahead of their toughest challenge of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign boosted by the presence of a player who could make all the difference to their chances of beating Ulster.
A place in the play-off phase of the competition is already assured for the Sharks, as it is for the other two South African contenders, the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls. But the South African Shield is still up for grabs, with all three teams still in with a chance of lifting that trophy, and then there is the perhaps more important business of trying to clinch home ground advantage in the first play-off game.
That will come about if they manage a top four finish, which the Sharks will do if they win. There are no ifs or buts about that, for both them and the Stormers, who play the Scarlets in Llanelli, a win will be enough to ensure they play their quarterfinal at home. And given what a massive difference that makes to their chances of advancing, that does make Friday night’s game at Kingspan Stadium a must win, and a fixture almost akin to a play-off game.
There’s a good chance that defeat will send the Sharks back to Belfast two weeks later to play Ulster again, so this is the perfect time to have their regular captain Lukhanyo Am back in their midst.
Am is important to the Sharks for more than just his leadership. Indeed, given that Thomas du Toit did so well in his absence, and that Am hasn’t played for them for over two months due to his short-term commitment in Japan, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if coach Sean Everitt elected to continue with Du Toit as the official captain just for this game.
It would give Am a chance to settle back in without the additional responsibility of the captaincy, and with Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi in the mix, the Sharks do not lack for leadership. But what the Sharks could do with at the Kingspan, which is a notoriously difficult place to play for visiting teams, is the calmness that Am brings as well as, perhaps even more significantly, his X-factor.
The Sharks have become a very forward based team in the Springbok centre’s absence. Yes, the backline players have scored tries, but it has been mainly the forwards that have set up the winning momentum the Sharks have enjoyed since they lost to Edinburgh in late March. Flyhalf Curwin Bosch has started to play closer to the gainline as he has gained confidence, and that has brought the backs more into the game, but still the question persists and you never know what might happen now that, for the first time in a long time, the Sharks are playing a big game away from Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
With players like Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Du Toit fronting for them, the Sharks have dominated the scrumming battles for most of their home run, and that aspect of their game will be relied on heavily again to to give them some kind of lift at the Kingspan.
However, they are up against a better pack than they have played against in a while, and Ulster don’t often take a step backwards on their home field. Yes, they went through a bit of a dip when they lost their Champions Cup round of 16 clash against Toulouse and then slipped against Munster the following week, but their important away win over Edinburgh should have stabilised things.
They have also had a three week break between games in which time they should have gotten over the emotion of their gut-wrenching Champions Cup exit and completely refocussed on the one trophy left for them to play for.
So it might require something extra for the Sharks, something special and out of the ordinary, to win this game, and the undeniable X-factor of Am, who set up the first try that South Africa ever scored in a World Cup final in Yokohama in 2019, can provide that.
An example of what we are talking about came in the last big away game the Sharks played against the Bulls in February. The Bulls, having lost Morne Steyn to a red card, were just starting to come back at the Sharks as halftime loomed, but a brilliant bit of ingenuity from Am from the restart effectively killed the home team’s challenge as he soared up to take the kick-off and ran through to score.
That score should figure in any try of the season clip, and it wasn’t the only time he did something special. Indeed, the Bulls will recall that Am, with a game breaking try, was the man of the match against them in the Durban game too.
Although they are already there, the Sharks will announce their tour squad later on Tuesday but they have confirmed that Am is with them in Belfast. That’s a big plus for them and it gives them hope as they go in search of a win that will give set them up for a home quarterfinal and, if they manage to finish second, possibly a home semi-final too.