The correlation between Sharks and Leinster's nightmare starts

Leinster have one win from four starts in the United Rugby Championships and the Sharks have a draw.

The only win for the Irish giants, Leinster, came against the Sharks.

Both teams are loaded with internationals, but that has not effectuated the desired results.

Leinster had 14 players, almost an entire team, on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

Eleven Sharks players have regularly featured for the Springboks since the 2023 World Cup, with a handful either injured or no longer wanted.

Some of the main reasons behind the grisliness of the campaigns of the two ‘giants’ so far relate to the availability (or lack thereof) of their internationals and the lack of a befitting and coordinated pre-season.

Let us start with Leinster, the defending URC champions and a decorated team with four European stars (Champions Cup wins) and nine URC/Pro14/Pro12 titles.

They started with a two-match trip to South Africa without their B&I Lions contingent.

It spawned just a solitary four-try bonus point from a 0-35 loss to the Stormers and a 31-39 defeat to the Bulls.

They returned home to demolish the hapless Sharks 31-5 in Dublin, before last week’s loathsome 14-31 loss to Munster at Croke Park.

It was the first outing for the bulk of their B&I Lions delegation, players like Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Max Deegan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Sam Prendergast and James Lowe.

They even had Springbok RG Snyman in their starting XV for the first time this season.

The Croke Park blowout had all the hallmarks of a ‘season-opener’.

The late return of their internationals meant there was no real ‘pre-season’ to speak of.

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It is very analogous to what happened at the Sharks.

‘They also started a tour without their Springboks, who were still involved in the Rugby Championship, and no real pre-season to speak of, as many of the younger and fringe players were involved in the Currie Cup.

The Sharks were beaten 35-19 by Glasgow Warriors and drew 17-all with a Dragons team that ended their 18-game losing streak at Rodney Parade.

They then ran into Leinster with only some ‘out of favour’ Boks – Jaden Hendrikse, Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am – along with star wings Ethan Hooker and Edwill van der Merwe.

The result was expected, but the margin (31-5) was not.

The Sharks returned home and loaded up on international muscle, 12 starting Boks, including a host of double World Cup winners, and a few more on the bench.

However, the Bok contingent could not prevent another regrettable (24-34) loss to a red-hot Ulster team.

The fall-out of this early-season horror show has seen several regulars out of favour and missing the Boks’ year-end tour cut – Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch, Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi.

The latter two, at least, are on ‘standby’.

The Sharks’ Bok contingent dropped from 11 last year to just seven – Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Ox Nche, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker, Edwill van der Merwe and Grant Williams.

They are also without injured players like Trevor Nyakane, Jason Jenkins and Aphelele Fassi, but have fringe Boks like Vincent Tshituka, Marvin Orie and Phepsi Buthelezi.

Now, for some context, let us look at France, more particularly,  at the country’s most decorated club, Stade Toulousain.

Toulouse, with an unprecedented six European stars, completed a remarkable three-peat in the Top 14 Final back in June, defeating Union Bordeaux-Bègles 39-36 after 100 minutes of extraordinary rugby at the Stade de France. It was their 24th Top 14 title.

However, when France toured New Zealand in July, only two Toulouse players travelled with the national team.

Lock Joshua Brennan made his Test debut this year, and centre Pierre-Louis Barassi had just seven caps when they landed in Aotearoa.

The French club rested all their players and gave them a proper off-season.

The French are quite happy to put club before country and sent a ‘B-Team’ to New Zealand.

The powerful club owners value domestic and European competitions and also load their squads with imports.

Apart from their French internationals, Toulouse also has a healthy dosage of imports – Efraín Elías, Santiago Chocobares, Juan Cruz Mallía (all three Argentina), Jack Willis (England), Blair Kinghorn (Scotland) and Pita Ahki (Tonga).

Of the team names for France’s year-end Tests, eight of the 10 players featured in this past weekend’s Top 14 trip to Pau – Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri, Emmanuel Meafou, Anthony Jelonch, Kalvin Gourgues, Pierre-Louis Barassi, Guillaume Cramont and Romain Ntamack.

They’ve had a proper break, a proper pre-season and are fresh.

The same can’t be said of the Leinster and Sharks internationals.

In the case of Ireland and South Africa, it is country before club, with France the obverse.

Maybe Rassie Erasmus had a point when he was arguing in favour of a global season.

@rugby365com