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Just as they did last year, the Sharks have crashed out of European rugby with another poor performance in the Challenge Cup last-16.
After the Sharks controlled the first quarter and led 12-7 at the break, thanks to four Jean Smith penalties, Connacht then scored three tries and a penalty, keeping the Sharks scoreless in the second half, to win their knockout match comfortably 29-12 in wet and windy conditions in Galway on Friday night.
Sharks crash out
It followed a mediocre Champions Cup campaign, where the Sharks secured two wins from four, beating Saracens 28-23 and Clermont 50-12, while losing 56-19 to Toulouse and 26-10 to Sale Sharks.
It was at least an improvement on last year’s single win before dropping into the second-tier tournament.
On that occasion, the Sharks also went ahead at the start, but a second-string team could not hold onto their lead and lost 34-21 to Lyon in their Challenge Cup last-16 match in France.
The difference was that former coach John Plumtree had purposely chosen to rest more than a dozen of his Springboks and frontline players for Lyon.
This year, injuries forced JP Pietersen to name a somewhat understrength side for Connacht. Still, Springboks Vincent Koch, Ox Nché, Edwill van der Merwe, Vincent Tshituka, Ethan Hooker, Makazole Mapimpi and returning lock Eben Etzebeth lent their talents to the team.
Turning attention to the URC
It leaves the Sharks with one tournament to focus on. Pietersen said afterwards they would go “all out” in their four remaining United Rugby Championship contests, against Ospreys and Edinburgh away, and Benetton and Zebre at home.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get 20 points for the four games to set us up for a possible top eight finish,” he said.
The Sharks are 10th on the URC table with five wins from 14 games. They have 33 points, six points adrift of ninth-placed Connacht and seven behind eighth-placed Bulls.
The Sharks first take on Ospreys on Saturday, 18 April.
