The Sharks won the 2024 European Challenge Cup by defeating Gloucester 36-22 in the final. It was the South African domestic sides first year in the competition and they manage to win, so how did they manage to adapt and win the title?
Similar to the South African national team, they relied on a number of key components. Firstly the kicking game. The placed a huge emphasis on the kicking game to gain territory, force opposition errors and create attacking opportunities. They used this gameplan to attack in the right areas and build scoreboard pressure. This was supported with their supreme attacking quality in the backfield and throughout their backline. With a high amount of kicks in Sharks games, they have a need to create great attacking opportunities when they receive these kicks. With their electric backline, they have great speed, agility and power to punish any poor kicks.
In both attack and defence they are patient and play test match rugby. Being comfortable playing 10+ phases in both areas of the game, ensuring their error count and poor discipline are low. Ultimately, this means they wait for opposition errors and mistakes, using this as a main opportunity to create scoring opportunities in attack or turn the ball over in defence. Finally, this test match rugby approach is supported by their big time players. With the recent success of the Springboks, they have a number of World Cup winners within the squad. When the team is under pressure they rely on these players to produce moments of high quality and get them through.
Ultimately, it was a great first campaign for the Sharks and they will be looking to emulate their success in the top tier of European Rugby next season.