Double backline blow for Sharks

 

Jordaan has had a scope on his knee and will be out of action for approximately a month, while Ndungane will not considered for the Reds match as he has been released on compassionate leave, after his father passed away this week.

 

The enforced backline shake-up will put an end to the consistency in selection that Sharks Director of Rugby Jake White has enjoyed so far this season – having named the same matchday 23-man squad for all three of their matches this year.

 

The good news for White is that he has a ready-made replacement for Ndungane after JP Pietersen arrived back at the Sharks after his stint playing for the Wild Knights in Japan.

 

The Durban-based side face the Reds and the Waratahs at home in the next three weeks, with the Bulls at Loftus in between, and White is confident that his experience as coach of the Brumbies will stand him in good stead when facing the Australian teams.

 

"The Australian players ask different questions, they play a different kind of rugby,' White pointed out. 

 

"The Reds have Quade Cooper and Will Genia this week and the Waratahs have an abrasive pack of forwards, possibly a bit like the Bulls in the way they play. 

 

"I know what makes those two franchises tick, having coached in Australia, and I’m looking forward to that. 

 

"They are the two biggest franchises in Australia. We will present ourselves exactly the same as we did for the Lions and the Bulls and the Hurricanes. 

 

"We’re playing at home and we have to make sure that whatever homework we need to do this week is done by the time the Reds are here," White added.