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Bobby Skinstad: 'Sharks, Leinster and Toulouse were on same level'
By Simon Thomas
Former Springboks skipper Bobby Skinstad has claimed that the āmagnificentā Challenge Cup triumph by the Hollywoodbets Sharks has fully vindicated the involvement of South African sides in northern hemisphere tournaments.
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Skinstad felt that his former team delivered a near-flawless display in beating Gloucester 36-22 in last weekendās final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They became the first South African side to win an EPCR competition and it has earned them a place in next seasonās Investec Champions Cup.
āIt was a magnificent performance,ā said the former back row forward, speaking at a BKT URC round table. āThey were almost flawless. Their individuals really came to the party. I was very pleased for them. They delivered the performance when it was needed at the right time.
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āAfter a difficult season, they will be really pleased with what they have been able to achieve. It means that despite all the losses in the league and the negativity around that, they can leapfrog into the Champions Cup. So they will be delighted and I bet you they will be very competitive at that level.
āIf you look at the two finals on the weekend, I feel the Sharks, Leinster and Toulouse were on the same level. That has got to be positive for the Sharks. They will feel they can be competitive home and away.ā
On the historic nature of their trophy triumph, Skinstad said: āItās fantastic and Iām delighted. I have been an advocate for South Africaās participation in these leagues for a long time. I have spoken before about how good it was for the Stormers to get to the top end of URC. Winning an EPCR tournament is one level up again.
āItās fantastic kudos to the Sharks for being the first South African team to do that. Itās an amazing achievement. It just absolutely proves the competition model thatās being tried is on its way to being one that is the best for all the teams that are participating.
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āI love it. If the South African teams can compete at that level of EPCR rugby in general, we might have to change that name of just European rugby. It might have to be something to do with the hemispheres.ā
He continued: āI have seen some completely unfounded comments about āSend the South Africans back to where they came fromā. South Africa brings a lot to the table. It brings good, big, difficult matches.
āWe are outsiders, we are latecomers, we are Johnny Come Latelys in these tournaments. But, do you know what, we just won one of them, and we have won the URC already and been in the final, so I think we deserve our position.ā
John Plumtreeās jubilant Sharks will conclude their league campaign by playing hosts to South African rivals, the high-flying Vodacom Bulls, in Durban on Saturday. They have only won four of their 17 URC matches this season, but Skinstad believes they will be determined to back up their Challenge Cup success by recording a derby day victory.
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āI know John and he is a very competitive man. He is a born winner,ā he said. āThe Bulls at home is a big match for the Sharks. We will see a full-strength Sharks side. We will see them wanting to end the season on a high and being very difficult to beat at home, particularly with their current performance.
āThey will be using that to say, āOkay, letās prove to ourselves that we should have been further up the table than 13th which we are not very proud ofā. They are playing the Bulls, who are second, so they will be saying, āLetās make sure we give them a good hiding and make everybody sit up and take notice of what the Sharks will be next yearā. Thatās my gut feeling.ā
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Munster
17
12
4
1
63
2
Bulls
17
12
5
0
61
3
Leinster
17
12
5
0
60
4
Glasgow
17
12
5
0
60
5
Stormers
17
11
6
0
54
6
Ulster
17
11
6
0
53
7
Edinburgh
17
11
6
0
49
8
Benetton
17
10
6
1
49
9
Lions
17
9
8
0
49
10
Connacht
17
9
8
0
45
11
Ospreys
17
9
8
0
45
12
Cardiff Rugby
17
4
12
1
30
13
Sharks
17
4
13
0
25
14
Scarlets
17
4
13
0
22
15
Dragons RFC
17
3
14
0
16
16
Zebre
17
1
15
1
15
The other South African derby in the final round of league matches this weekend sees the fifth-placed DHL Stormers entertaining the Emirates Lions, who lie ninth in the table. On the Stormers, Skinstad said: āI would say, by their very high standards, they have been disappointing.
āEven John Dobson has said they have dropped points when they shouldnāt have. They will be disappointed that they wonāt have a home play-off run, but they will be doing their best to prepare for trying to win away from home.
āTheir quarter-final is quite likely to be against the Bulls if you look at how it stands. Itās still in South Africa, so there is less travel which is a factor. They have played well against the Bulls several times over the last three or four years.
āSo you would imagine they give themselves a chance to make it through and then after that it remains the big teams of the tournament they are up against and they have either won or come close to winning against all of them.ā
As for the Lionsā play-off hopes, he said: āWith them sitting in ninth, they have got quite a lot to do. The Stormers at home are a difficult prospect. I havenāt picked the Lions as a team that goes through just based on the probabilities.ā
I believe Bobby is now doing stand up in Cape Town.. š
The Sharks are, at best, the 25th best team in Europe - and utter shite in the urc.
But wouldn't expect anything other than ignorant shite from Saffas
Poor, whiny little Naaige. Springboks (4 times RWC champions) still live rent-free in that cavernous space between your ears.
Get help, you sad little man.
Sorry but is just silly. The sharks would have lost to Leinster by 20 over the weekend. Is Bobby looking for a job in SA again?
Bearing in mind the quality of the Sharks and the non-season theyāre having in the URC, they should indeed be held up higher in the hierarchy of club teams.
But they beat narrowly Clermont, not a great side this season. Northampton were very close to winning in Dublin. And won 90-0 toā¦ Gloucester.
So I donāt really get what is the point of putting the Sharks on the same level based solely on 2 games in the same weekend.
Because it sounds like Ā« weāre as good as Toulouse and Leinster Ā».
To be fair, that was Gloucesterās B team.
But as a Sharks fan, I am very relieved that the Sharks didn't play Leinster or Toulouse this weekend, it would've been a 20 point loss
The lions would be in trouble depth wise if they went through at the moment.
It might be embarrassing.
Why donāt they join up with Free state, Pumas for future urc