Mike Greenaway
On Saturday, the Sharks make their debut in the Champions Cup, the ultimate competition in the northern hemisphere and the good turnout expected at Kings Park should be remind us of the miracle that their team is entertaining the Exeter Chiefs.
Last season, the Sharks came nowhere close to qualifying for the Top 8 of the United Rugby Championship which would have given them passage into the elite Champions Cup. They had grappled with the new game plan and culture coach John Plumtree was instilling but at the end of the season, they settled down and began a run that saw them win the Currie Cup and beat Gloucester in the Challenge Cup final.
Hence their automatic passage into the Champions Cup, albeit via the back door.
At the weekend, after the Sharks had smuggled a United Rugby Championship win over the Stormers, Plumtree said: “We want to win the big competitions. We are in the Champions Cup and we have major ambitions.”
“It is hard for me to talk right now about Exeter when we have just got out of jail against the Stormers, but a home game in the Champions Cup is hugely important to us."
The Chiefs are mid-table in the English Premiership and at the weekend came close to beating leaders Baths. They lost 19-15 away from home and are packed with England internationals.
They also have an ex-Shark who is tipped to play for England in the Six Nations. Jacques Vermeulen has served his three-year qualification in England and is very much on England coach Steve Borthwick’s radar.
Vermeulen is 29 and joined the Sharks out of school at Paarl Gimnasium. He is tough as granite and a big performance at his old stomping ground at Kings Park would grow his chances of England selection.
Another big draw card at the Sharks Tank is England's loose forward phenomenon Immanuel Feyi-Waboso-Wayoso, who was arguably England’s best player in the November internationals.