This had all the ingredients for a cracking festive fixture in the Champions Cup. A Sharks team studded with World Cup winners would arrive at the fortress of Welford Road and face Michael Cheika’s resurgent Leicester with a precious pool stage win on the line. Only one problem.
Already severely depleted by injury, the Sharks’ options were further limited by the decision to leave stellar names such as Siya Kolisi, André Esterhuizen and Ox Nché at home. The only possible conclusion was that this match had long sincebeen written off as a cross in the “L” column by the Sharks’ head coach John Plumtree. Managing resources is fine and natural, but where it all leaves the integrity of this great competition is another question.
Plumtree’s young team did their best to prove this was something other than a mismatch, and briefly led thanks to Manu Tshituka’s try. But in truth this was a walkover; a waste of time for anyone interested in competitive sport. The Sharks had listed 15 players as unavailable owing to injury when naming a XV featuring eight changes from last week’s home win against Exeter: Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi were among those ruled out.
But the absence of Kolisi, Esterhuizen and Nché – fit but rested – was a disappointment for anyone who had invested in a . ’s hopes of progressing from Pool One suffered another setback after they lost 40-19 against in Belfast. A week after conceding 60 points to the hold.
