Daniel 'shocked' over rift claims
Sharks captain Keegan Daniel said that he was shocked to hear about allegations of a rift between the Afrikaans and English players in the Sharks squad.
Reports from some sections of the South African media on Tuesday claimed that captain Daniel feels that the large contingent of Afrikaans players have too much of an influence in the squad.
The allegations could not have come at worse time for the Sharks who head into the last leg of their Australasian tour against the Force on Friday, off the back of five consecutive losses in the competition.
Sharks scrumhalf Charl McLeod came out immediately to rubbish these claims on social media, saying that there is no such problem amongst the players.
The Sharks have strongly condemned the allegations and claim that the report is unsubstantiated and irresponsible.
In response to the article, Sharks captain, Daniel stated: "I was shocked to hear about these allegations. I can’t believe that someone would say this about me in order to try and sell newspapers. It is an attack on my integrity, which is very disappointing, and it is most untrue.
"I have never had a problem with any person in our rugby squad. Since this report surfaced I have had nothing but support from my teammates of all cultures. This is a lesson that younger players in our squad can learn – when a team is struggling with form then you become an easy target."
Sharks CEO, Brian van Zyl added: "The Sharks team's strength has always been its diversity. The same squad pulled together less than 12 months ago to get into the Super Rugby Final. They play for each other and their jersey. The cultural and language demographics within the team are a strength from which the team has drawn.
"I have been in touch with John Plumtree and team management and have been informed that at a team meeting, which took place this afternoon all players stood firmly behind Keegan Daniel as captain."
Daniel responded in Twitter with a picture of himself and a few of the Afrikaans members of the team.
Just getting a quick lesson in Afrikaans before training. Your thoughts? twitter.com/KeeganDaniel/s…
— Keegan Daniel (@KeeganDaniel) May 14, 2013
