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Durban – It was a day of pleasant surprises for the Sharks as they began preparations for their opening Vodacom Super 14 match against the Chiefs at ABSA Stadium. Sport 24.co.za
Last week there were several players on the doubtful list ahead of the first fixture. They included some key players such as scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, who underwent surgery during the off-season, as well other players with international experience such as Adrian Jacobs and Deon Carstens.
Jacobs injured a hamstring in the warm-up before the match against the Stormers in Cape Town, but was back in training on Monday. Loosehead prop Carstens was also back in the fray quicker than expected, as were Rory Kockott (injured shoulder against Stormers) and flanker Jacques Botes.
But the most pleasing comeback was that made by Pienaar. Although he completed his rehabilitation last week, he was expected to take a bit longer to get himself match ready, but he took part in training and now it seems almost certain that he will be part of the Sharks 22 for the clash with last year’s beaten finalists.
It is unlikely he will start, for the Sharks management are taking a conservative line on players who have only recently come back from injury for the two matches that will be played in South Africa before they embark on a tough five match tour of New Zealand and Australia.
The Sharks know that they need as many fit players as possible for the tour, and are reluctant to take any risks before departure.
The smart money is on Pienaar specialising mainly as a scrumhalf for the Sharks this season, but he could well find himself coming on as a flyhalf from the bench against the Chiefs. Monty Dumond’s quiet games in the Neo-Africa series in Cape Town have made the little known newcomer Steve Meyer the front-runner to wear the No10 against the Chiefs.
The Sharks need to find a solution to the off-season loss of the injured Argentinian Juan Hernandez as a matter of urgency and their lack of experience in some key areas in the backline could prove their Achilles heel in the coming season.
Jacobs injured a hamstring in the warm-up before the match against the Stormers in Cape Town,
No he didn’t.He rocked up to the ground in civvies.
Good news….I still think Ruan should be 10 for an extended period and I’m sure he will brilliant
@Pokkel (Comment 2) : agreed. there is no point in him playing one position for sharks and other for boks.
plumtree should see this injury to Argie as some sort of divine intervention
steve meyer played better in 30 minutes than monty dumond has his whole career at the sharks! Hahahahahaha
this is a tough call. ruan doesn’t boot away possession so he could be a good choice at ten. meyer has been playing nh rugby and that is all they do. monty i don’t want to give up on, but is s14 a step to high for him? no wonder plum is keeping his cards to his chest, he has too many and a wrong play could be detrimental. plum never had this many conundrums last year. The sharks have a wealth of talent but a lot of players don’t automatically get a position.
@Megatron (Comment 5) : Meg man are you a major steve meyer fan or what??have you watched monty,s whole career?did you watch his currie cup performances?
@try time (Comment 6) : have you watched france vc scotland. there was quite a bit of running, i dare say more running than we saw from the boks of late.
@Megatron (Comment 5) : hate to say this but i agree with u
@rekinek (Comment 8) : i was making my comments on what steve said about his rugby in france. “I’m excited about it, to see the difference in intensity, I’m sure it’s a step up. Playing overseas, the weather plays a major role in the tempo of the game. Heineken Cup rugby is more forward-dominated, there is a lot of tactical kicking, so I’m really excited to see how I measure up in the challenge that lies ahead.” he said it, i just echoed it.
@dragonshark (Comment 7) : i watched monty in the currie cup last year, him & charl mcleod actually had a good spells & then the boks came back & charl & monty were banished to the bench…
the first time i heard of steve meyer was when it was reported that the sharks had SOS-ed him from Perpignan
@try time (Comment 10) : i wonder whether he knows what intensity means – because i haven’t seen any at least from sharks part in these warm-ups.
@Megatron (Comment 11) : 30 min on field is bit little to judge really.
at least we know what to expect of monty. meyer yet to be tried I guess, but could he be better option than pienaar.
I think Charl and Ruan will gel quite well. As long as we attack more and win the games, it wouldnt matter who plays where
@Jarson’s (X + V) (Comment 13) : here is a thought.
@rekinek (Comment 14) : i get them sometimes
@Jarson’s (X + V) (Comment 15) : amazing
@rekinek (Comment 12) : you don’t win trophies in warm up games. and also what is the point of getting injured in a warmup game? i am not concerned.
@try time (Comment 17) : agreed.
my point is: what intensity is he talking about, his only experience is this warmup game. i’m worried now.
@Megatron (Comment 11) : meg, i watched mainly highlights of SM in action for Perpignan and as usual feel that if he is played our penalty misses will once again be our acheles heel,attack and defence not too shabby but we have lost too many games in the past due to poor kicking.
@dragonshark (Comment 19) : my guess is that if Meyer gets 10 – 9 will do kicking
@rekinek (Comment 18) : oh i see where you are going. super 14 does have a lot more intensity. you have the travelling, 13 games etc etc. heineken cup doesn’t offer the same intensity. he would have experienced it when he was part of the sharks, eventhough he never played s14, he would have trained with the guys back then.
@try time (Comment 21) : how far back was that?
@Megatron (Comment 22) : 2006.