“10% Chance Of Living”: Mongalo’s Desperate Plea Ahead Of Sharks’ Must-Win Edinburgh Clash
Sharks defense coach Joey Mongalo has delivered a grim yet defiant assessment of the team’s United Rugby Championship survival, likening their play-off hopes to a patient fighting for life on a deathbed.
The Durban side travels to Scotland this weekend with a clear directive: fight with total desperation or face a premature end to their campaign.
The Sharks are currently navigating a turbulent season, compounded by the mid-year coaching transition from John Plumtree to JP Pietersen.
As the regular season nears its end, JP Pietersen acknowledged that the Sharks needed to win their remaining four matches. However, they fell short at the first hurdle, losing 21-17 to Ospreys in a tightly contested encounter.
The defeat allowed Ospreys to leapfrog the Sharks on the table, leaving the Durbanites in 11th place, 11 points behind the eighth-placed Bulls, with a mere three rounds remaining.
The Sharks must now rely on other results going their way while also ensuring victories in their remaining fixtures – away to Edinburgh and at home against Benetton and Zebre Parma – if they are to have any hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
“After losing to Ospreys, we thought we were dead and out of the URC, but we still have a ten percent chance of living,” said Mongalo.
“We said, imagine you’re on your deathbed and someone said you have a ten percent chance of living – similarly, we have a ten percent chance of making a play-off. We should play with the desperation of someone who has a ten percent chance of living,” he added.
“That desperation that such a person fights with to stay alive is the desperation we need to play against an equally desperate Edinburgh side.”
The Sharks enjoyed extended periods of territorial dominance but were unable to deliver the decisive blow, getting caught out on several occasions by the Ospreys during the contest.
Despite two tries by Phepsi Buthelezi and a strong individual effort by Ethan Hooker – the Sharks found themselves constantly chasing the game.
“We had an honest and good review after the Ospreys game,” admitted Mongalo.
“We felt we left a bunch of opportunities out there. Our systems and our processes got us to within scoring distance, and we just could not get over the line,” he explained.
“Conceding an intercept and a maul try are things that are easy for us to stop. We kicked well, and we felt we had enough territory and possession to win the Ospreys game.”
Mongalo chose to focus on the positives, taking encouragement from the Sharks’ favourable record against Edinburgh – having won four of their five meetings – and they are unbeaten against them in the Scottish capital.
“We are optimistic. We believe that if our effort, technicality, and the physical aspect are good, we can put up our hand.”
The Scottish side languishes in 12th place on the table and, aside from pride, has little left to play for. Despite this, Mongalo knows there will be no pushovers.
“Edinburgh is a good side at home and is very different to when they play away from home,” Mongalo mentioned.
“They are proud people and their stadium, The Hive, is where the Scotsmen and women come out to support them proudly, so we know it will be a hostile environment.”
The Sharks’ away record leaves much to be desired, but a determined performance and a positive result would lift the team’s spirits ahead of concluding the campaign in Durban.
“We have everything to play for, so we’re hoping that our fans back home will switch on their TVs on Friday night and see desperate people fighting to stay alive.”
The match against Edinburgh begins at 20:45 on Friday.
