Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Siya Kolisi and Jason Jenkins.Alamy Stock Photo Inconsistent Sharks have improved but remain URC's most perplexing team Munster head to Durban to face a side that have only lost once at home in the URC this season. 5.00pm, 29 May 2025 Share options THE SHARKS CONTINUE to be the most perplexing team in the URC. Packed with Test-level talent, the South African side are a more balanced outfit than they were last season yet they remain prone to swings of inconsistency. This weekend they take on Munster in the URC quarter-finals, and the province will be well aware of the threat posed by the Sharks given their ill-fated trip to Durban earlier this season. That 41-24 loss in October proved to be Graham Rowntree’s final game in charge. Having scraped into the playoffs, Munster will need to step things up if they are to keep their season alive this Saturday. The Sharks have taken confidence from their new-found ability to win tight battles, games they would have previously struggled in, but have made it clear they are determined to play when Munster come to town. This campaign has been a notable improvement on last season, where the Durban side only managed to win four of their 18 games as they slumped to a 14th-place finish. That return was all the more baffling given the Sharks managed to put together a brilliant Challenge Cup run, beating Gloucester in impressive fashion in last year’s London final. This time around, they’ve had the look of a team who benefited from a full pre-season together. Whereas the Sharks were heavily impacted by the 2023 World Cup – not recording their first win until round six of the URC – this season the Sharks went into the opening rounds fully loaded. Advertisement They also added more quality to an already talented squad. Jason Jenkins joined from Leinster and the lock has been almost ever-present in the starting team. World Cup-winning tighthead Trevor Nyakane has brought power up front and Andre Esterhuizen has locked down his place at inside centre. The Sharks have also been playing with a new 10, with 23-year-old out-half Jordan Hendrikse recruited from the Lions last summer. Yet the headline signing was that of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, who cut short his time in France with Racing 92 to return to South Africa. Kolisi is their top try-scorer and his presence has clearly helped lift things at the Sharks, and alongside other Springbok stars such as Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am, the team is backboned by a core of experienced, proven winners. Eben Etzebeth.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo That’s all fed into a notable upturn in form. The Sharks finished third in the URC table, bettering last season’s performance by 11 places, and winning 13 of their 18 games. Munster’s task this weekend is a difficult one but the Sharks have not cut out all those old bad habits, and they still tend to give their opponents opportunites. They can be guilty of switching off in games and turning over the ball too easily, while their defence still needs shoring up – shipping 30 points or more seven times this season (twice in the Champions Cup). Back in March they needed a 74th-minute try to avoid a home defeat against a struggling Zebre team, winning 35-34. That sloppy performance left head coach John Plumtree feeling his team had made life ‘easy’ for the Italians, admitting their skills had not been up to scratch. That has too often been a source of frustration. A week later they lost 10-7 at home to a young, heavily-rotated Leinster team – their only defeat across their last seven URC outings. The Sharks finished strong in winning their four final regular-season URC games, but even some of those performances raised questions about their temperament. Now that it’s knock-out rugby, they are determined to shake off those questions. They have managed to make Durban a fortress, losing just twice at home – against Toulouse in the Champions Cup and against Leinster in round 14. And they hope there is more to come. Injuries left the Sharks light at out-half in recent weeks but Jordan Hendrikse has been back in training ahead of the Munster game. If they click, they can make life very hard for Munster, but the province will head into their quarter-final clash knowing the Sharks still have a soft side which can be exposed. Earlier this week, Etzebeth admitted the players have at times been “frustrated with ourselves” for a lack of consistency across their performances. Now that they’re in the play-offs, and with home advantage on their side, they feel they can make a real charge for the title. Ciarán Kennedy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Sharks have improved but remain URC's most perplexing team”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Sharks have improved but remain URC's most perplexing team”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. 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