Please give Sharks their due reward

C’mon World Rugby! Just get it over and done with and hand the Sharks the Super Rugby trophy. This was the call made by thousands of Sharks supporters after World Rugby decided this week to declare New Zealand the winners of the international Sevens series, calling off the campaign because of the global pandemic.

This despite only six of the 10 rounds being completed, with the last Sevens tournament having been held in Canada in March before the competition was stalled.

At the time, New Zealand led the standings on 115 points, followed by South Africa on 104 points, Fiji on 83 and Australia on 81.

Many would argue that the Sharks are in exactly the same position, having led the overall Super Rugby log when the competition was brought to an abrupt standstill after seven rounds.

It might be a problem, however, that the Sharks have played one more game than the Brumbies and the Crusaders, with both sides lying just one point behind.

The Sharks had 24 points after losing just once in seven matches, while the Brumbies and the Crusaders were both on 23, having each lost one of their six games.

Lions flank Jaco Kriel said recently it would probably not be fair on other teams if the Sharks were handed the trophy because of certain grey areas.

Kriel pointed out that the Lions were also leading the log in 2017 but had to play a final, going down to the Crusaders, and he believed a winner could only be named if there had been a playoff match.

A simply outrageous idea came from New Zealand this week, with a suggestion that the winners of their Aotearoa competition should be declared the Super Rugby champions.

But how do they back their argument if there are only Kiwi teams in action in the Aotearoa?

Their competition is being run over 10 rounds, with each team playing eight matches and having two byes. There will be no final but the team with the highest points will be declared winners.

The fourth round of the Kiwi competition will be played this weekend, while the Australians kick off their own domestic competition with a game between the Reds and the Waratahs today.

These newly launched series’ have underlined the fear that South Africa is falling further behind with every passing week, with the earliest return date now set for the end of August.

In the meantime, however, SA could land a mental blow if World Rugby declares the Sharks the winners of the Super Rugby competition.