Sharks · History

The Sharks played their first Super Rugby final in 1994, when the Natal side finished runners-up to Queensland in the Super 10. The Durban franchise, which represents South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal region, went on to contest four more Super Rugby finals between 1996 and 2012. In 2021 it left that competition to join the United Rugby Championship. Its home is Kings Park Stadium in Durban, whose capacity was cut from 52,000 to around 46,000.

From the Super 10 to the Super 12

Natal took part in the 1993 Super 10 and finished second in their pool. The following year they reached the final against Queensland and lost. When the Super 12 began in 1996, the team entered the inaugural edition under the Natal name and again reached the last match. The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland, where the Blues beat the Natal Sharks 45-21. From 1998 the franchise was known as the Coastal Sharks, reflecting a partnership with unions from the Eastern Cape that lasted until 2005. In that same 1998 season the team reached the semi-finals.

The 2001 and 2007 finals

In 2001 the Sharks were back in a final, this time in Canberra against the Brumbies, who won 36-6. The 2007 decider was the first final staged in Durban and the first between two South African teams. The Sharks were ahead in the closing minutes, but a last-play try by Bryan Habana gave the Bulls a 20-19 win at Kings Park. It was the first Super Rugby title for a South African side, and the Sharks were left with a third lost final of the professional era.

The 2012 final and the 2014 conference

A fourth Super Rugby final came in 2012. The Sharks travelled to Hamilton to face the Chiefs, who won 37-6, scoring four tries to none, to claim their first title. Two years later, in 2014, the Sharks won the South African Conference and reached the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by the Crusaders. Between 2016 and 2019 they played in four consecutive quarter-finals. In 2020 they were top of the standings when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the season to be cancelled. In that year's Super Rugby Unlocked, a competition between South African teams only, they finished third.

The move north

In 2021 the Sharks played in the Pro14 Rainbow Cup and finished second in the South African group. In the 2021-22 season they joined the United Rugby Championship alongside the Bulls, Stormers and Lions, making their debut against Munster on 25 September 2021. The new league gave them access to the European cups. In the 2022-23 Champions Cup they finished third in Pool A, beat Munster in the round of 16 and were heavily beaten by Toulouse in the quarter-finals.

The 2024 Challenge Cup

In the 2023-24 season the Sharks played in the Challenge Cup and reached the final, held in May 2024 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. They beat Gloucester 36-22, with tries from Phepsi Buthelezi, Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi, and three conversions and five penalties from Siya Masuku. The result made them the first South African team to win a European trophy.

Grounds and honours

As well as Kings Park, the Sharks have played home matches at Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg, which holds 12,000 spectators, and occasionally at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont. In the 2024-25 Champions Cup they won one of their four pool games, dropped into the Challenge Cup round of 16 and were heavily beaten there by Lyon. In the league, the Sharks won the United Rugby Championship South African Shield in the 2024-25 season.