Sharks sweating over injured star ahead of Loftus trip

REACTION: Sharks coach John Plumtree is hoping for some good news on the injury front, ahead of the team’s trip to Pretoria and a Currie Cup semifinal face-off against the Bulls.

The Sharks put down a big marker ahead of the trip to Loftus Versfeld, beating the Bulls 24-18 in their Round 10 encounter in Durban this past Sunday.

With both teams fielding a significant number of their United Rugby Championship players – after a season littered with fringe and Under-20 players – the win at Kings Park will give the Sharks the confidence they need heading to Loftus Versfeld.

Sharks coach John Plumtree said he was ‘disappointed’ to lose a number of players to injuries.

Springbok prop Ruan Dreyer suffered a calf injury just minutes after coming on t the start of the second half.

Young replacement Jaco Williams – who came on for Jurenzo Julius in the 31st minute – did not make it past half-time.

He is struggling with a groin injury.

Julius failed his head injury assessment and will be going through a return-to-play protocol this week.

“We are hoping for a speedy recovery of those guys,” Plumtree said.

Despite the lengthy injury list – which includes Andre Esterhuizen, Braam Reyneke, Dan Jooste, Diego Appollis, Eduan Keyter, Hakeem Kunene, Ig Prinsloo, Jannes Potgieter, Jason Jenkins, Jean Smith, Khwezi Mona, Marnus Potgieter, Siya Ngiza, Thomas Dyer, Tian Meyer, Tinotenda Mavesere and Yaw Penxe – the Sharks are ‘excited’ about the return fixture against the Bulls.

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“It is a different pre-season,” Plumtree said about using the last few rounds of the Currie Cup as URC preparations.

“Normally we just have some meaningless games.

“This is a semifinal and the second game of the season for some guys.

“It gives a different edge to the pre-season, which is nice.

“It adds a little bit more pressure, which will be great when we travel abroad for the URC.”

With their Round One match against the Lions (originally scheduled for September 22) postponed till early in 2024, they start their URC campaign with a road trip – Connacht in Galway (September 28), Dragons in Newport (October 5) and Benetton in Treviso (October 12).

Their first home game is against defending champions Glasgow Warriors in Durban on October 19.

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