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| Jannie & Bismarck du Plessis. © sharksrugby.co.za |
In recent weeks – and it is only three matches into the Absa Currie Cup tournament – The Sharks have welcomed back the likes of JP Pietersen, Louis Ludik and Willem Alberts, while Springboks Ryan Kankowski, Beast Mtawarira and Ruan Pienaar were released from the Boks to play for the province.
And they could be further strengthened says assistant coach Grant Bashford. “Jannie du Plessis is also available if he passes a fitness test while [brother] Bismarck been with us on a rehab process, and whether he plays this week or next, we will see later in the week but he's taken contact in training already this week.”
The coaching staff face some tough decision-making when it comes to team selection. Bringing back the Springbok players means someone else might have to drop out and there have been some outstanding performances to date.
“Within our squad system, we believe we have the players. Whether the Boks play off the bench or start, it will strengthen us either way. It's just how they are integrated.”
And if that's not enough, there are more returning players expected back at various stages of the campaign “Lionel Mapoe still has a while to go so he's not available for selection and still has his arbitration case. Adi Jacobs, Andre Pretorius and Gerhard Mostert are still in rehab but all itching to come back.”
With Willem Alberts having played last week and Jean Deysel set for an imminent return, Bashford argues that, “When you take players like them out of any team, you lose a huge attacking weapon. No disrespect to the others who have played really well, but you could see when Willem came on, where we had previously played through 9-10 phases and retained the ball, there wasn't anyone breaking the line through sheer brutality.
“The minute Willem came on, he crashed through a tackle and gave us some direct go-forward ball. Those players are invaluable and there aren't too many teams in the world who can boast the physicality these two bring. They'll be huge for us in the campaign.”
Looking back to the match against the Pumas, he explains that, “The words that came out of the game were attitude and respect for the opposition. We possibly underestimated the opposition last week, while against the Blue Bulls, we have a knack of getting into a good mental state. Against the Cheetahs, we need to do that. We know that they're a good enough side that if you're not on your game, they can knock you back a few steps.
“For us it's going there and getting the attitude right and the belief that we can beat them.”
