Mike Greenaway
When John Plumtree took over at the Sharks about three years ago, he said he would not consistently win trophies unless he had a squad that had little difference in class between the preferred starters and the rest.
Plumtree has subsequently nailed a Currie Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup but now he is for a nasty period when many of his backup troops have to step into some serious big boots. Plumtree is in Leicester with a side shorn of half a dozen top players while the Tigers, third in the English Premiership, boasts top internationals in Handre Pollard, Jack van Poortvliet, Julian Montoya, Ben Youngs, Freddie Steward and Tommy Refell.
How Plumtree would love to have Eben Etzebeth leading the pack against that lot but the Bok bruiser is in Durban with other injured stars in Gerbrandt Grobler, Vincent Koch, James Venter and Vincent Tshituka. And they have gone down at a time when the Sharks venture into the toughest string of fixtures.
After the Champions Cup match against Leicester, they return for double derbies against the Bulls (Durban) and Stormers (Cape Town) in late December, and those games are their warm-ups for Champions Cup clashes with French giants Toulouse and Bordeaux in the first two weeks of January.
That is a relentless run of extremely tough matches and of Plumtree picks up more injuries, and this is inevitable, the Sharks could be in trouble.
They have already lost a whack of firepower and, worryingly for the coach their injuries appear to be long-term.
The Sharks were very good against the Exeter Chiefs in the second and third quarters of the game but wretched in the first and fourth quarters.
The SA teams have not yet cottoned on to the fierceness of the Champions Cup. It is a higher level competition to Super Rugby and is highly revered in France and Ireland where it is taken with deadly seriousness.
An example at the weekend was the ruthlessness with which Toulouse smashed Ulster 61-21, with Antoine Dupont pulling the strings perfectly. Bordeaux were also excellent in beating Leicester 42-28.
So, this weekend the Sharks are going to learn a lot about their quality as a team and their readiness for the top French sides they will be hosting in January.
Toulouse are cruising at the top of the French Top 14 and will come to Durban on January 11 packed with French internationals determined to prove a point against the SA team that boasts the most Springboks.
That match featuring Dupont and the flower of French rugby will draw a massive crowd to Hollywoodbets Kings Park but what shape will the Sharks be after some huge encounters on the road?