Sharks' answer to conquer Leinster in Dublin
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sharks have a slight chance of short-circuiting Leinster’s United Rugby Championship season with the dynamic and history-making duo Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi.
Leinster are unbeaten at home this season, with a 22-all draw against defending champions the Stormers the only blemish when playing in Dublin.
Everything favours a Leinster win, but a year ago it also did when the Bulls came calling in the semifinals. The Bulls scored a stunning upset.
Rugby is a game traditionally won up front, but every so often victory is fashioned because of the genius of a strike runner or two. In Am and Mapimpi, the Sharks have two of the best in the world.
The visitors have experienced an indifferent season and lost matches they were expected to win, given the quality of their squad. Injuries have hurt them. There is no Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, but what they have lost in these two iconic Springbok forwards, they have gained through the availability of Am and Mapimpi.
Statistically, the strikes must come from these two while the rest of the team must accept they will be on a constant gainline collision course. To win in Dublin, players leave exhausted, battered and elated. Few teams have experienced the euphoria, but most can describe the battering and exhaustion.
To illustrate Leinster’s excellent form at home, they ended the league phase with a points difference of +197, scoring 53 tries while conceding just 21.
It would seem a lost cause, but the visitors will take confidence that a Bulls team that needed a last-minute drop goal to beat them in last season’s semifinals, did it.
Aiding the Sharks in the recent return of several Springboks, who were available to play for the last three rounds after an international training camp.
Neither Am nor Makazole Mapimpi were in Dublin in October when the Sharks put up a brave fighting effort in a 54-34 reverse, conceding three tries in the last 15 minutes.
Now, the two Boks backs will be aiming to make a difference, as they have often done for South Africa in the biggest games.
Best friends off the field, Am and Mapimpi form a potent centre-wing combination on it. Am is the epitome of cool, calm and collected, balancing out Mapimpi’s aggressive and high-energy approach.
The two first started playing together at the Eastern Cape-based Border Bulldogs in the first division of South Africa’s Currie Cup, and their career paths eventually led to the Sharks. Both have flourished since moving to Durban, the power of the partnership best highlighted in 2019 when they combined for that first Bok World Cup final five-pointer.
When asked about their relationship, Mapimpi said: “Lukhanyo is a very good friend, you know it’s been a long journey between the two of us.
“He’s someone I trust and we’re very honest with each other. If we make a mistake, or do something wrong, we aren’t afraid to tell each other. But it’s done in a good way.
“It’s important to have that sort of relationship, and it keeps us honest. I’ve been very grateful to play with him, and it’s also people like him who I think are an inspiration for other youngsters back in the Eastern Cape.”
Am’s no-look pass to Mapimpi against England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final demonstrated the trust the two share on the field, as Am could easily have tried to run the ball in himself.
The British & Irish Lions were the next team to feel the ‘Am-pimpi’ pain, as both players scored a try in the second of the three Tests to help South Africa bounce back from a series-opening loss in Cape Town in 2021.
They have owned rugby’s biggest international stage on a wondrous South African night in Japan in 2019 and on Saturday they could own a Dublin stage that in recent years has never been kind to visitors.
But, if you want someone to crash a rugby party, send in the ‘Am-pimpi’ pairing. You only have to ask England about the duo and that night in Japan four years ago.
