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Third-ranked Hollywoodbets Sharks host sixth-ranked Munster in the last quarterfinal of the URC this weekend at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday, 31 May, with the game 75% sold out a few days before the fixture.
The men in black should come into the weekend in a confident mood with six wins in their past seven matches and with only two home losses across all competitions this season. Although they have hardly been firing on all cylinders, they have been finding ways to win ugly at times, and in knockout rugby that's all that matters.
The Irish side arrived on South African shores having won three of their past six fixtures, but did win the past two on the bounce.
If Munster want to rely on the history books, they might take comfort in the fact that the Sharks have played in eight previous quarter-final fixtures in all competitions, with their only win at the knockout stage being at home to Edinburgh in 2024’s EPCR Challenge Cup - a competition they went on to win. Furthermore, the Irish teams have had a decent record against the Sharks, with the South Africans’ home record against Irish opponents in the Championship being won four, drawn one, and lost three.
Munster have also had good success in the URC quarter-finals and have won their quarterfinal fixture for the past two seasons. If they need to tap into any more motivation, if they lose, it will be Peter O'Mahony's last match as he hangs up the boots after the season, and he could inspire another successful trip on the road for the men from Cork.
Their most recent tour to SA was not a good one after they lost to the Stormers (34-19) and Sharks (41-24) in Rounds 5 & 6, and Head Coach Graham Rowntree left his role shortly after. Current interim coach Ian Costello says a lot has changed since then, saying they have players now in form and with a lot more experience, while the group is high in confidence.
For Munster the joint leading try scorer for the season with 9 is Tom Farrell while for the Sharks their leading two try scorers are Siya Kolisi with 7 and Ethan Hooker with 6 but Jordan Hendrikse is third on the log for most points in the URC (118) and Munster’s Jack Crowley has less than half of his tally.
Munster will need to stop the flow of attack from the Sharks' flyhalf as Hendrikse has made the most contestable (56) and retained kicks (28) so far this season, while their Springbok-laden ball carriers have been some of the most impactful as the team has averaged the third-most metres and the most post-contact metres per carry so far this season.
Likewise, for the Sharks, if they halt the front-foot game of Tom Farrel, they should dent Munster’s side progress as he leads their carries, dominant carries, post-contact meters and offloads!
The 32-player Munster squad also travelled to South Africa with the return from injury of Jack Crowley, Diarmuid Barron and Niall Scannell.
The other issue for the Sharks is that they have the most yellow cards of any team in the URC, with 15, and that has been a worry all season and in tight games, could be their undoing.
There are some great player matchups across the squads, but expect some collisions and contests as Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth duels with fellow Springbok teammate Jean Kleyn - both sides operate with high success rates at scrums and lineouts. Etzebeth was the player of the match the last time the Sharks ran out, but he needs to make sure his team cuts down the errors and gets on the better side of the match official to keep out a determined Munster outfit.
He said in the build-up to the game, “Playing at home is an advantage and a good opportunity for us to hopefully push a bit further in this competition. But two seasons ago, Munster played a quarter-final, semi-final and final away from home [and won the tournament, so they are used to playoff success.”
A URC fan vote suggests the Sharks will win this playoff and head to face the Bulls in the semifinal, who fans voted will beat Edinburgh in the quarterfinal on the same side of the draw. We can't disagree with them, but the Sharks will need to be much improved and more clinical and cut out the disciplinary issues plaguing them all season to just edge past Munster.
