Poitrenaud to add some French flair to Sharks?
The Durban side signed Poitrenaud on a one-year deal to help mentor some of the youngsters in the Sharks backline and his experience will be valuable as the Sharks are will without JP Pietersen and Willie le Roux.
Poitrenaud is not the first Frenchman to join the Sharks and he follows in the footsteps of Frederic Michalak, Thierry Lacroix and Olivier Roumat who have all put on the famous black and white jerseys with much success.
Sharks assistant coach Sean Everitt is hoping that Poitrenaud will have a similar impact on the field like his countrymen.
"Clement [Poitrenaud] is definitely in contention for a position in the starting team or in the matchday 23," Everitt told reporters in Durban.
"He brings a lot of experience having played 49 Tests for France. We have got a young backline and someone with that experience at Test level will be good for us to help guide and mentor the youngsters that are on the field."
Everitt added: "He is a wonderful guy and he is very popular amongst his teammates. I think the guys are quite surprised that his English is quite good.
"He fits in well. He has got a good sense of humour. He trained really well and he has got a good skillset, which is admired by the players."
Another player Everitt hopes will make a big impact this year is scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.
Reinach suffered a terrible knee injury in April last year and has only just made his way back on the rugby field during the pre-season.
"We missed him [Reinach] a lot last year," said Everitt. "He has been unlucky over the last few years with the injuries that he has had.
"Cobus certainly does provide us with X-factor. He is a good all-round scrumhalf, he is an opportunistic player with a good boot as well.
"More importantly he has been here for a long time. He knows the system, he gets on well with the coaches and he certainly delivers on the field, so we are happy to have him back."
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