Neil Powell. (Photo Credit Mandatory Steve Haag/Gallo Images)
- Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell has made it clear that his unbeaten side are looking for a place in the Champions Cup playoffs on home soil.
- The Durbanites take on the Harlequins in their final group game after qualifying for the round of 16 last weekend.
- The Sharks are second in Group A behind Irish giants Leinster, but are well positioned for a playoff run at home.
The expressed intention of Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell is for his unbeaten team to secure a playoff home position in their final Champions Cup group A game against Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday (15:00 ).
READ | Bulls name Bok-laden road squad for road games against Lyon, Scarlets
The Sharks, sitting second in their group behind Leinster, have mathematically qualified for the last 16, which, if they hold, would give them one of the group’s four home playoffs in the next round.
The Durban side were hit hard in last year’s United Rugby Championship (URC) when they failed to close out the quarter-final at home, meaning they went to Loftus to face the Bulls, where they lost to a drop-goal of Chris Smith in death.
“Home field advantage will definitely be crucial,” Powell said.
“If you look at the history of the competition, teams with home advantage have a huge advantage even in pool games.
“They know the conditions much better and know how to play them. It will be a big advantage for us, if we can secure them.”
The South African teams will stage round of 16 and quarter-final matches at home, but the semi-finals and final (Dublin) will take place in Europe due to an agreement between SA Rugby and the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR).
The quest for a home playoff still has great appeal for the Sharks, who have already won in France and beat both Bordeaux and Harlequins at Kings Park.
With one round remaining, Powell is likely to go with a strong team to London this week after resting a team of veteran players for his last URC outing in Connacht a fortnight ago.
“There’s always something to that (team selection), whether we make it to the round of 16 or not,” Powell said of the team selection tweaks.
“It definitely won’t matter how we approach our next game. There’s still a lot to play for, which is obviously your home knockout game.”
“If we can get more points from Harlequins, it gives us a better chance of securing home games in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, if we are successful.
“That will be one of our goals before the Harlequins game.”
The Sharks dominated Bordeaux at Kings Park last weekend, scoring a comfortable 32-3 win with Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi and Marnus Potgieter producing strong performances.
The team, however, loosened the shackles of the visitors in the second half, something Powell said they would address before the clash against the Harlequins.
“We were dominant in the first 25 to 30 minutes, but we got out of our structure and attacking ways and made the game a bit loose,” he said.
“That played in Bordeaux’s favor because they wanted a rudimentary ball on the ground or kick it and get turnovers to kick it behind you and have their pursuers chase it.
“It’s something we’ll address this week, be more clinical, continue to believe in our form and do what we want to implement and not give in to the game plan of the opposition.”
