Sharks must 'break serve' on Europe's Court One

OPINION: The Sharks’ chances of hosting a Champions Cup quarterfinal may hinge on an away win at Leicester this Saturday.

Siya Kolisi was the deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award following the Sharks’ emphatic 39-21 win over the Exeter Chiefs in Durban this past Saturday.

After claiming his accolade, the Springbok skipper praised his team’s performance, before reminding all and sundry about the Sharks’ campaign-defining assignment in Leicester.

Home wins are essential for those hoping to qualify for the Champions Cup play-offs.

Away victories, of course, separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Consider the results from the first round of the 2024-25 tournament.

Only the very best teams managed to win away from home.

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Home teams prevailed in nine of the 12 Champions Cup fixtures staged over the past weekend.

Formers champions La Rochelle claimed a 24-20 win in Bath, while Leinster – last season’s finalists – came away with a 35-12 victory in Bristol.

Toulon picked up an important 24-14 win over the Stormers in Port Elizabeth.

It could be argued that the Cape side was also playing away from home – as the Cape Town Stadium was booked for the second leg of the Sevens Series.

But that won’t change the fact that Toulon banked a valuable win in South Africa, or the Stormers’ lack of log points after the first round.

For the most part, the weekend’s matches provided a timely reminder of the difficulty of winning away.

Saracens hammered the Bulls 27-5 in atrocious conditions in north London.

When the two teams met in Pretoria last December, the Bulls won 27-16.

Earlier this year, Jake White’s charges copped a 59-22 hiding at the hands of Northampton in the quarterfinal staged at Franklin’s Gardens.

It will be interesting to see how the Bulls fare when they host the Saints at Loftus Versfeld this Saturday, but a victory for the hosts – and perhaps some revenge for that previous result – would not come as a surprise.

In tennis terms, winning a home game could be equated to holding your serve.

Breaking your opponents’ serve, or winning away from home, is more difficult – yet the better teams tend to find a way.

Herein lies the challenge for the Sharks, a team that appears to be on the rise after a challenging couple of seasons.

John Plumtree’s charges proved they have what it takes to win away from home earlier this year, when they beat Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final staged in London.

It remains to be seen whether the Sharks can match that effort at Welford Road this Saturday..

Leicester are coming off a 28-42 loss to Bordeaux-Begles.

Some might suggest that the result highlighted the Tigers’ vulnerabilities, but more should be read into the fact that the recent game was staged in France.

Like every other team in this tournament, the Tigers would have placed a greater emphasis on winning their home games. They will fancy themselves in a home clash against the Sharks.

After the recent game in Durban, Kolisi spoke about the challenge of facing ‘Polly’s boys’ – a reference to national teammate Handré Pollard, who plies his club trade at Leicester.

Adapting to the conditions won’t be easy, and the Sharks may need to temper their tactics.

The same approach that earned them a victory over Exeter in the heat and humidity of Durban is unlikely to prove effective in the cold and rain at Welford Road.

But if the Sharks get it right, they will add another four log points to their tally and improve their chances of hosting a play-off.

The Bulls’ recent loss at Saracens may well prove instructive.

South African teams cannot host a semi-final at this stage – a situation that is set to change in the coming seasons – and the powers that be have already awarded the final to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The upshot is that the three South African teams are currently playing for the opportunity to host a quarterfinal.

Thereafter – should they progress – they will play all subsequent play-offs in Europe.

If they fail to pick up sufficient log points over the four-game league phase, they will travel abroad for the Round of 16 or miss out on the play-offs completely.

The Bulls and Stormers are currently in this danger zone.

The latter will face Harlequins in London on Saturday.

Like Leicester, the English side is coming off a loss in France (12-23 to Racing 92), and like Leicester, Harlequins will be a different prospect at home.

The Bulls and Stormers will fight to keep their play-off hopes alive this weekend.

The Sharks will be determined to make a bigger statement regarding their ability to win away in the Champions Cup.

They will also be mindful of their next two matches in January, against current champions Toulouse in Durban, and against Bordeaux in France.

Toulouse – at full strength – are more than capable of winning away from home, as they showed in their victory against Leinster in the Champions Cup final staged in Dublin this past May.

In a sense, Plumtree’s men could tick two boxes if they win in Leicester this Saturday.

An away win would serve as a statement, while the resultant four log points would consolidate their position ahead of two tough matches against top French teams. They won’t want to leave themselves with too much to do in the latter rounds of the tournament.

If they fail to ‘break serve’, the Sharks – much like the Bulls and Stormers – could spend the rest of the campaign on the back foot.

@rugby365com