HEROIC SHARKS PRIMED FOR URC GLORY

The Cell C Sharks, on the back of a truly heroic performance in France over the weekend, are back at home in The Shark Tank to resume their URC campaign against Benetton tonight…

Neil Powell’s charges might have lost the ‘battle of Toulouse’ on Saturday, and dropped out of the Heineken Champions Cup race, yet the boys emerged from the Stade Ernest-Wallon with enormous credit.

The final score might have been 54-20 to the five-time Champions Cup winners, Toulouse, yet it was no reflection of just how well the Cell C Sharks had acquitted themselves, especially during the first hour and more of the quarter-final.

“It was a major disappointment,” Powell acknowledged afterwards.

“Walking into the change-room after the game, there was dead silence. You could see the utter disappointment on the guys' faces.”

After all, at halftime, Toulouse, who basically boasts the backbone of the French national side, was still clinging to a narrow 14-11 advantage.

Then, in the 53rd minute, Boeta Chamberlain glided into the backline and raced through untouched for a brilliant try, which Curwin Bosch goaled from touch to reduce the deficit to only 17-21, with barely a quarter left.

Unfortunately, Toulouse replied immediately thereafter through a try by winger Juan Cruz Mallia, from turnover possession, and then the floodgates inexplicably opened.

With the passionate home crowd urging on their team, as well as placing certain pressure on the match officials, there were a couple of doubtful calls, with Sikumbuzo Notshe, who had a blinder, being denied of a try in the first couple of minutes, due to obstruction - which was not at all clear on the TV replays.

“The big turning point was Grant Williams’ try that was disallowed because of a forward pass,” added Powell.

“If we had scored that we probably could have gained a bit of momentum to keep the pressure up on them and finish strong.

“The guys nevertheless produced a big effort, a big fight. They really tried hard and left everything out there on the field.”

Although they are now out of the Champions Cup race, the performance in Toulouse proved beyond doubt that this Cell C Sharks unit, at full strength, are more than capable of still doing really well in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.

Tonight they host the 2021 Pro14 Rainbow Cup and multiple Italian champions, Benetton, and will be looking for another big performance to improve their standing on the URC table and challenge for a playoff spot.

Benetton triumphed 27-23 over Cardiff in the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo on Saturday.

Last year, the Cell C Sharks saw off Benetton 29-7 in Treviso, bagging a bonus point in the process. They are fizzing to deliver a similar result at home tonight, prior to hosting Munster next week.

The boys will no doubt back themselves for another top performance against Munster, too, having comprehensively dismantled the Irish outfit at Hollywoodbets Kings Park a few weeks ago in the Champions Cup.

To be sure, two home wins on the trot will significantly boost the Cell C Sharks’ chances for glory in the URC.