Deysel flies in as Sharks' injury woes lift
The Sharks received a timely boost as they look to steady a rocky ship on the overseas leg of their Super Rugby campaign.
It was confirmed on Monday that star loose forward Jean Deysel have flown out to join up with the squad ahead of their Round Six encounter with the high-flying Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The Sharks – who suffered a heartbreaking 30-34 loss to the Waratahs at the weekend – have collected a losing bonus point in all three their defeats this season, suggesting they may not be as far off the pace as their 10th place on the standings suggest.
With Willem Alberts and Marcell Coetzee both putting in excellent performances in recent weeks, Deysel – with just one game for The Sharks XV under his belt – may well play off the bench against the Brumbies.
His appearance for the Sharks XV in their 51-38 victory over the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend was his first game since the horrific knee injury that ruled him out after the Currie Cup Final last year.
“Jean [Deysel] came through the game perfectly fine,” Sharks team doctor Ewoudt van der Linde said from the team’s base in Sydney.
“He played 75 minutes with no problems at all.”
The doctor added that the Sharks suffered no other injuries of note in the loss to the Waratahs.
“Pat Lambie is just struggling with a tooth that he injured during the game.”
This happened in the first half of the game when he went down with a knee to the face as he chased a high ball. He will see a dentist to have X-Rays.
to exclude any pathology.
And in further good news it was revealed that centre JP Pietersen is running well and could to pass a fitness test on Thursday to play on Saturday.
“The prognosis is good,” said Van der Linde.
He added that props Jannie du Plessis and Wiehahn Herbst, who both took knocks in the previous week’s win against the Reds, have recovered well. Both played in the match against the Waratahs – Du Plessis starting and Herbst replacing him in the 59th minute of the game.
“Both should be okay for the Brumbies game.”
The Sharks have this strange record of not winning nearly as many games in Australia as they have in New Zealand and will target the Brumbies this weekend to produce a performance that brings reward.
Like Sydney, Canberra has not proven to be the happiest hunting ground for the Sharks. The Brumbies are currently in third place on the overall log, having won three of their four games.
At the weekend, they consigned the Highlanders to their first loss, a 33-26 victory in Canberra, and with World Cup-winning former Bok coach Jake White in charge will be confident of adding the Sharks’ scalp to their collection.
