In nearly 20 years of Super Rugby, the Sharks have only ever twice returned from an overseas tour without a win, and the Durban side will be desperate to avoid adding to this inauspicious record when they take on the Reds in Brisbane.
Three successive defeats derailed the Sharks’ season before they headed overseas towards the end of last month, and although they somehow harboured hopes of turning their fortunes around in Australasia, their losing streak has ultimately stretched to six matches.
And while the Sharks were unlucky to lose against the log-leading Hurricanes and the reigning champion Waratahs over the last fortnight, the fact remains this has now become their worst sequence of results since 2000.
Prior to last weekend’s clash against the ‘Tahs, Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold said they simply had to stop the rot, and that remains the goal as they head into tomorrow’s battle.
In certain circumstances, the final tour game can traditionally be a difficult one as teams are often afflicted by the ‘one-foot on the plane’ syndrome as they begin to think about returning home.
However, this will surely not be the case for a Sharks side that won’t be found lacking for motivation as they attempt to return to Durban with a bit of pride restored.
The squad would at least be able to walk through the arrivals hall at King Shaka airport with their heads held relatively high if they can find a way to end their tour with a much-needed win.
Yes, the Sharks’ play-off prospects may be a thing of the past, but Gold agreed that it was “critically important” for the coastal side to head home on a positive note.
“We had a shocking first week against the Highlanders, and then two good performances where we just weren’t on the right side of the scoreboard. On other days, those results might have gone our way, but the fact of the matter now is that the Reds seemed to have turned the corner and it’s important for us to do the same thing.
“We understand that there’s a huge amount of pressure that we’re under, but I have to say, the guys are up for the task. The training has been very good this week and everyone is really looking forward to finishing off the tour on a high and giving our supporters a little something to cheer about.”
The last time the Sharks lost their first three matches on tour was in 2013, but they finished on a high when they beat the Force in Perth in their final tour match.
There is every reason to believe the Durbanites could repeat that feat in Brisbane, with the Reds remaining eminently beatable despite their resurgent performance against the Rebels last weekend.
If one looks at the log, the teams the Sharks have faced in their last six games are all either positioned in play-off spots or just outside that top six bracket, with the KZN team lurching from one uncompromising fixture to the next.
The Reds, by contrast, lie second from the bottom on the overall log, and while this is not to suggest they are going to be easy-beats tomorrow, the fact is that the Sharks should feel fairly confident in their ability to finally get back to winning ways.
There has been a noticeable improvement from the coastal side over the last couple of weeks, particularly on attack, and if they can finally complement this with some accurate defensive work, it could well lead to a winning performance.
If not, the pressure Gold spoke of will only increase exponentially, and it would make for a rather miserable long-haul flight home if they had to undertake that journey knowing that not a single log-point had been attained overseas.
That prospect is pretty damning, and it’s exactly why you can expect the Sharks to leave absolutely everything out there on the Suncorp Stadium pitch tomorrow.