Proof that their 69-14 slaying of the Dragons last weekend was not a false dawn has to see the light of day against the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday, if the Sharks are to count among the serious contenders in the United Rugby Championship.
They will not so much march to Pretoria, as arrive under the radar hoping to sneak a win and get out before sunrise.
The Sharks had earlier slumped to the bottom on the URC points table after an inauspicious away from home record at the start of the competition. The defeats to Munster and Leinster weren’t unexpected, but their performances against the Ospreys and Zebre Parma, as well as a home defeat to Connacht, left their home fans with a sense of doom.
They did, however, do what was expected against the Dragons, who they thoroughly vanquished last weekend.
Their quest for winning momentum will meet stiff opposition this weekend, however, when they run out at the Bulls’ fortress. The Bulls have been snorting with intent with four wins from their six matches and will be a handful in front of their home fans.
The Sharks, though, have been emboldened by the return of their Springboks and they looked different beasts when they downed the Dragons last weekend.
Having Eben Etzebeth, Jaden Hendrikse, Ox Nché, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi back certainly gave the Sharks the golden glow they were looking for from Rugby World Cup winners.
They may have reintegrated their stars, but the quality of the opposition will remain a challenge as Nché, a player who has warmed to almost all the challenges he has encountered of late, was keen to remind.
It isn’t just in the tight exchanges that the Sharks will have to come to grips with the Bulls, who come off a resounding 53-27 victory over Connacht.
“If you have been watching the Bulls’ games, they have been running with the ball,” Nché noted. “They kick well, they are dominant in contact and their defence systems are in place.
“I think they are going to give a complete package in terms of the challenge.
“We have to be ready for it or we will come out second best.”
Naturally the tight exchanges, especially the scrum, will be a daunting prospect for the team visiting Loftus.
Nché agrees it will be a keenly-contested battleground, noting how well the Bulls scrum as a unit.
The Sharks, though, will simply have to find ways of subduing the Bulls. Given their poor start to the competition another defeat on South African soil, losing more ground to the Bulls will come as a crushing blow.
Sure, playing Munster and Leinster away from home did them no favours early in the competition, but they can ill afford to lose more ground if they want to finish among the home quarterfinalists.
They can, however, draw solace from the marathon nature of the URC, which concludes on June 22 next year. They can play themselves back into contention, but it will have to start this weekend. The Crusaders were particularly adept at overcoming a slow start when Super Rugby was in its pomp, and the Sharks will be hoping the same sense of timing and never-say-die attitude now take root in their squad.
Nché agrees a lot of what is in the Umgeni River will have to pass under the Athlone Bridge before the competition reaches its climax.
The Sharks should not be discounted just yet. Much investment has gone into the franchise and with that has come expectation. Last week saw an improvement, but they are far from done. As their coach John Plumtree noted after their 10-try romp over the Dragons, “we are not where they want to be”.
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