Unpleasant surprise awaits Stormers
There may be an unpleasant surprise waiting for the Stormers in Durban on Saturday, whether they send their A or B team.
While the Stormers will downplay the significance of the motivational aspect, the Sharks are making no secret of the fact that they are determined to give a winning send-off to three of their stalwarts – Willem Alberts, as well as the Du Plessis brothers Bismarck and Jannie.
The Du Plessis brothers have been linked to a move to Montpellier after the World Cup, while Alberts is reportedly heading to Stade Francais.
While the Sharks are having their worst season in a decade – they will finish outside the top 10 for the first time since 2005 – they are looking to finish the season with three consecutive wins and honour the departing players for 'services rendered' to the Durban-based franchise.
"They been huge contributors on and off the field for the Sharks brand," assistant coach Sean Everitt said.
"They have been major ambassadors.
"They have been passionate players and the team is passionate about them.
" The Du Plessis brothers been here for 10 years," he said of Bismarck, who made his Sharks debut in 2005, while elder brother Jannie only arrived in Durban in 2008.
"The guys want to give them a good farewell."
Jannie du Plessis made just 35 Currie Cup appearances for the Sharks, as a result of being unavailable through his Springbok commitments, but he has 114 Sharks Super Rugby caps (to go with the 26 times he played for the Cheetahs in Super Rugby and 69 times for the Free State in Currie Cup).
Bismarck du Plessis played only two Currie Cup games for the Cheetahs before he headed to Durban, where he made 129 Super Rugby appearances and played in 42 Currie Cup games in the black-and-white of the Sharks.
Alberts, who only joined the Sharks in 2010, played 40 Currie Cup and 37 Super Rugby matches for the Lions. Since his arrival in Durban he played in 21 Currie Cup and 70 Super Rugby matches for the Sharks.
Everitt said it is not just the emotion surrounding the departure of the trio that is driving the team this week.
"Before we played the Rebels [after beating the Reds in the last game of the Australasian tour] we had spoken about finishing on a good note and that remains our aim," the assistant said.
"It does not matter where we are on the log, we want to play with pride.
"There is a lot of pride in the team and we want to finish on a high for guys who might be playing last game in sharks colours."
He said they are not distracted by the talk of the Stormers sending a 'B' team to Durban, after having already qualified for the play-offs.
"Fresh in our minds is a weakened Stormers team that came to Durban and beat us last year," he said, adding: "We will prepare as normal, whether they bring their full metal jacket or not."
Springbok Marcell Coetzee is back from an enforced rest period, as required by an agreement with the South African Rugby Union, while Alberts also looks likely to return from an ankle injury.
