Sharks stars fit and ready to fire
Sharks coach John Plumtree will have the majority of his big guns at his disposal when the defending champions take on the Cheetahs in their Currie Cup semifinal in Durban this weekend.
The coastal outfit should have all of their Springbok players, with the exception of outgoing skipper John Smit, available for the big knock-out clash with the Men from Bloemfontein despite Jean Deysel and Lwazi Mvovo suffering minor niggles in their comprehensive victory against the Lions last week.
“Jean Deysel has a bit of a groin strain, Lwazi came off with a hamstring complaint, we will assess them during the course of the week. Hopefully they aren’t too serious,” said Plumtree.
There were concerns over Tendai Mtawarira, who did not feature against the Lions as he needed minor surgery, but he trained with the team on Monday and should be raring to go on Saturday.
Plumtree added that although Smit’s contract with the Sharks does not offically end until the end of the season, he has been given the chance to pack his bags and get his affairs in order before he leaves to join English club side Saracens.
The Sharks boss explained: “Beast will be OK. He needs minor laser surgery, but it’s not like he has to be opened up. He’ll be ready for next week.
“John Smit’s leaving to go to the UK, he has a lot of work to do organising everything so won’t be considered, It’s better that he focuses on that and we’ll run with what we have. We’ve had that discussion and it’s not a problem,” he added.
The Sharks’ Boks certainly made an impact in the game against the Lions last week, and Plumtree revealed that all of them had been completely committed to making a contribution despite only arriving back from the World Cup in New Zealand days before the game.
“I met with them individually, all said, ‘Don’t worry coach, I’m there,’ I then met with them as a group, we decided a good performance would bring us together,” said the Kiwi mentor.
Plumtree said that the major difference the returning Springboks made was the intense physicality they brought with them onto the pitch, a factor which has him feeling far more confident looking forward.
He said: “I was pleased with our physicality at the breakdown and collision, it was really up there. The challenge for us is to bottle that and keep it going.
“You could see with some of our performances this Currie Cup we haven’t owned that gain-line but against the Lions we crossed it regularly, we got some good ball, were able to get real momentum and that’s very important.
“We’ve had a couple of performances this season where we’ve been hurt like that but with the firepower we have back, we can compete,” added Plumtree.
