Springbok front row Vincent Koch is upbeat ahead of the Hollywoodbets Sharks encounter against Gloucester in the European Challenge Cup final in London on Friday.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, both the English Premiership strugglers Gloucester and the Sharks, the first South African team to reach a European club rugby union final, will be hoping to put disappointing home seasons behind them.
With one round of the regular season still to play, the Sharks—who boast a roster that includes several Springbok World Cup champions in Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, and Koch—are mired in 13th place in the 16-team United Rugby Championship.
But should the Sharks or Gloucester win the second-tier European final, they would automatically qualify for the Champions Cup the following season, taking the eighth-placed team from their division.
“It doesn’t reflect what we did in the first half of the season, but how we fixed it and how we finished the season, so for us, it’s very important,” added the 34-year-old prop, twice a Champions Cup winner with Saracens.
“Playing in Europe is amazing. I’ve been there with Saracens, but there for a South African club, it’s a surreal moment.”
When pressed to identify the difference between the Sharks’ URC and Challenge Cup results, Koch declined to attribute the problem to long-haul flights in what are essentially two European championships.
The team had, however, suffered from the absence of their Test players during the preseason, according to the two-time World Cup winner, before South Africa’s ultimately successful title defence in France.
“The Springboks joining a bit later, we didn’t really know what the culture was until we joined, then we knew exactly what coach (John) Plumtree wanted us to do and how he wants us to play.”
The Sharks defeated Clermont, a French team, 32-31 in the Challenge Cup final, much as South Africa won all three of their final three World Cup games by a point apiece, including defeating arch rivals New Zealand 12-11 in the final.
“The Sharks, haven’t won anything internationally yet, and for us that’s massive,” said Koch.
“And then of course playing on an international level, it’s for South Africa once again. We want to walk away and lift the trophy and say that it was again for South Africa, and for the family, and for the fans, and for everyone, and the brand as well.”
With their seventh final appearance, Gloucester has won the Challenge Cup twice—in 2006 and 2015.
With just five of 18 games won, they were ninth in the 10-team Premiership this season.
Gloucester lost to Northampton 90-0 on May 11, after making it to the Challenge Cup final the week before with a 40-23 victory against Benetton Treviso of Italy.
Gloucester director of rugby George Skivington understands how difficult it will be to give Jonny May a winning send-off in what is poised to be the former England wing’s last game before he leaves the club, but their dismal league form made the Challenge Cup a priority.
“They (the Sharks) have got a lot of high-profile players, a lot of guys who can do things out of nowhere, which goes from back-line players to Etzebeth in the second row and World Cup-winning front-rowers,” said Skivington.
He added: “Like us, their league campaign hasn’t gone to plan, so both teams have a lot to play for.”
Photo by Huw Evans/Shutterstock
