Eben: It's definitely one of my best memories
05/25/2024 12:54 AM
Skipper Eben Etzebeth described the Sharks' Challenge Cup title win as his greatest club highlight, with head coach John Plumtree praising the team for "sticking to the plan".
The Durbanites made history by becoming the first South African team to win a European cup final with a 36-22 win against Gloucester in London on Friday night.
The comfortable victory sealed a spot in next season's Champions Cup for Plumtree’s charges, and came off the back of a disappointing Vodacom URC season, where they dropped out of the playoff race after a slow start to the season.
"The motivation [to win] was more within the team," said Etzebeth.
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"To turn things around the way we did after where we were four or five months ago, was fantastic. There was a big drive to win the Challenge Cup as a silver lining to our season, which hasn't been great.
"If you told us at the start of the season that we would win the Challenge Cup and qualify for the Champions Cup, we would have taken it.
"The victory was special, and it felt as though we left our best performance for last. The guys were just incredible, and the physicality was great."
Commenting on the importance of the victory, the double World Cup-winning Springbok lock added: "At club level this is by far the best memory. The last championship I won [at club level] was the Currie Cup in 2012, so it's been 12 years.
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"This is the first international trophy the Sharks have won and to become the first South African to win in Europe is definitely one of my best memories ever."
Delving into the detail of their game plan, Plumtree said: "We wanted to apply a lot of pressure up-front because we knew it would probably be their strength, so by taking that away, we knew we would have a good chance.
"I thought the scrum was outstanding, and the front row's drive was very good, and they earned the rewards for it. So was the pressure game from our kicking game.
"A lot of it was based around scoreboard pressure, which we had to keep building on, and credit to the guys for sticking to the plan."
The Sharks have one game remaining in the current season against the Vodacom Bulls in the URC next Saturday
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
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