Sharks counting the cost after drawing a blank against Munster

The Sharks are counting the cost of their final league match in the United Rugby Championship against Munster.

A knock to prestige, personnel and potentially finances face the high spending Durban franchise after they only managed a draw against a resilient and resolute Irish outfit on Saturday evening.

With the top Welsh team guaranteed a place in the Champions Cup, the Sharks needed to win and hope Connacht fall short against Glasgow Warriors to secure passage to that tournament next season. While the latter came to pass the Sharks could not hold up their end of the bargain as they capitulated in the second half against an at times bellicose team in red.

The Sharks now have to win the URC to qualify for the next Champions Cup.

For all their star power the Sharks failed to rise to the occasion when it mattered.

Sure, they held the upper hand for most of the match and ran out to a 22-3 lead, but they lacked composure when Munster cranked up the heat and dragged the match to the furnace in the second half.

Their misery has been compounded by the injuries to flank Siya Kolisi and flyhalf Curwin Bosch. Both departed the scene in the first half. Kolisi injured his right knee as he was tackled just before the try line near the right-hand touchline, while Bosch never looked himself after he was taken out while trying to collect a high ball.

Kolisi hyper extended his knee and will be scanned to assess the damage. The injury did not appear catastrophic as the Bok captain remained on the field for a few minutes before being withdrawn from the action.

“We’ll have to wait for the doctor to do a proper assessment on Siya’s knee and give the feedback to us,” said Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell.

“It was unfortunate that we lost Siya so early in the game. He is influential as a captain and as a player. But that's why you have 23 players, not just 15, so we had enough quality players to stand in for him and get into the field,” insisted Powell.

Bosch's injured rib will also be scanned and in both cases Powell expects to have clarity by Monday afternoon.

What is already clear however is that the Sharks will have to refine their game management before they take on the tournament's pace setters in Dublin in a fortnight.

The Sharks, with Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Thomas du Toit leading the charge, were outstanding at scrum time and while they made the most of that advantage in the first half, they did not seem capable of delivering the killer blow, or how to hang on to their lead in the second.

“We didn't respect the game the first 10 to 15 minutes after half time. They got momentum and belief and we were simply not clinical enough to put them away,” sighed Powell.

Powell has much to ponder as he seeks to put his stars into higher orbit.