Tonight’s EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 clash between two previous champions, Lyon Olympique Universitaire and the Hollywoodbets Sharks promises to be full of action and excitement.
A young, but determined Hollywoodbets Sharks sides will look to deliver as they get an important opportunity to feature proudly in the Black & White jersey.
As 2022 EPCR Challenge Cup champions, Lyon host the reigning champions, the Hollywoodbets Sharks who beat Gloucester 36-22 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in last year’s final in May, in an eagerly-anticipated clash between two sides who have tasted glory in the competition.
A tight semi-final victory over Clermont Auvergne, when the Hollywoodbets Sharks reigned supreme, but only just, as they edged their French opponents 32-31, set them up for the final
They went through the pool stages with only one blip on the radar, a 32-29 loss to Toyota Cheetahs in round two, but were in imperious form in their other three fixtures, defeating the Dragons 29-9 and winning against French opponents Oyonnax (38-7) and Pau (45-5), followed by a 47-3 victory over Zebre in the Round of 16 and a quarter-final meeting with Edinburgh where they prevailed 36-30.
But this weekend is a new year, a new tournament and in Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby, they face a formidable opponent.
Founded in 1890 – 135 years ago – the Hollywoodbets Sharks predate Lyon by nearly five years, the French team operating from 1896.
Lyon’s Top 14 achievements have been rare and they have to go back into the 1930s to acknowledge their only success in France’s premier rugby league, winning the French Championship Top 14 only twice in their history, in 1932 and 1933.
Currently midway down the Top 14 table in seventh spot, Lyon boast a cosmopolitan side featuring mostly French players, but also those from South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand, Georgia, Argentina, Italy and Ireland which is typical for rugby clubs in France that attract players from all over the world.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks, like the rest of South African rugby, base their squad around locally born players with the odd smattering of international imports from time to time, although the sheer wealth of talent that emerges year after year, thanks to the powerful and well-oiled school system, means the local clubs generally don’t look beyond our shores to add depth to their squads.
A sizable squad is necessary to negotiate a long season that includes the local premier tournament, the Carling Currie Cup (of which the Hollywoodbets Sharks are the reigning champions), the EPCR Challenge Cup and Investec Champions Cup, as well as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
Throw in 10-15 Test matches and player management is crucial for fitness, performance and injury prevention. With the Hollywoodbets Sharks in with a strong shot at a home quarter-final in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, lying in fourth place with four pool rounds remaining, they have dipped into the squad depth for the Challenge Cup fixture against Lyon, making 13 personnel changes to the side that met Leinster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, as the look to negotiate the next two demanding months of rugby.
