Vermeulen hoping for more game time at Sharks

Vermeulen, who played representative rugby for Western Province from Under-13 level, signed for the Sharks ahead of the 2017 season and he believes he made the right decision.

"After attending high school at Paarl Gym – which was a good rugby and academic school – I signed up with Western Province for three years,” Vermeulen told sharksrugby.co.za.

"After that, I had the opportunity to come to The Sharks, and I took it. It seemed like a very good opportunity at a very good rugby union, one of the best in the world, so it was an obvious option to follow."

The 21-year-old believes that his chances of playing Super Rugby would have been limited if he stayed in the Cape.

"Initially, it was a very difficult decision to make, but already, by the end of my first week here in Durban, it felt like home," he said.

"All the guys were really welcoming and the Durban people are very nice so it's been easy adapting to my new rugby adventure."

He added: "I'm a very young player still and at Western Province, there were a lot of good players in my position. 

"I believed that I needed to experience a change of scenery and I felt that Durban was the place to come."

However, Vermeulen knows that he will still have to work hard to impress Sharks coach Robert du Preez in order to make the team.

"There are frontline players who were in the starting line-up here before me, so it's not like I’m going to walk into the team, I know I have to work my way in which means I’ll be working hard and trying my best," said Vermeulen.

Source: @TheSharksZA