Why the Sharks can't be trusted on the road: A history of playoff travelling woes

The Sharks were an interesting case study when they traveled to Belfast for their United Rugby Championship clash against Ulster, which they lost 24-21 on Friday evening.

A home quarterfinal was at stake, but the Sharks proceeded to fluff their lines in a listless first 60 minutes that allowed the Ulstermen to be quarterfinal hosts instead of them.

That means the Sharks now have the unenviable task of having to travel to Tshwane for a mid-afternoon playoff game that's been unfriendly for most visiting teams historically. 

Playing afternoon matches at Loftus Versfeld shouldn't be a new thing for the Sharks.

However, here are five Super Rugby playoffs on the road which show why the Sharks can't be trusted with a playoff game, especially on the road:

19 July 2014: Crusaders 38-6 Sharks

This Jake White-coached group was probably one of the better Sharks sides of the previous decade. They had won a round-robin game in Christchurch and in doing so, became the first South African side to win there since the Bulls in 1996.

However, they'd been in Australia for two weeks before travelling.

There was no such luck as after their 31-7 win over the Highlanders in the qualifier at Kings Park, they took on the taxing Trans-Indian Ocean flight to New Zealand, where they were no match for the Crusaders.

23 July 2016: Hurricanes 41-0 Sharks - WATCH

Traveling to New Zealand for Super Rugby playoff matches was mission impossible for South African teams.

That often hastened the need for SA teams to do the business at home, but in finishing eighth on the log by being one of the wildcard teams by finishing second in their conference, they journeyed to Wellington for a quarterfinal.

It was a scoreless implosion in New Zealand's capital as the Hurricanes