Sharksworld managed to catch up with former Natal and Springbok centre Jeremy Thompson this evening. The subject of the discussion was, of course, Tendai Mtawarira, with whom Thompson shares a special relationship as the player’s mentor.
One gets the feeling that there is a lot of talk doing the rounds and while polite and friendly, I’m pretty sure Thompson must have fielded umpteen similar calls today. The fact is, when dealing with a player as hot as Beast is, there’s bound to be plenty of speculation about big-money transfers. While we in South Africa are getting our panties in a twist about a supposed move to the Lions, others are touting a move to Biarritz as a fait accompli – according to Thompson, just another made up story in the endless round of baseless rumours.
“Beast is a Shark,” Thompson tells me. “He is contracted to the Sharks, they have helped him become what he is and I don’t see him leaving here for a long time to come. That’s all I’m prepared to say on the matter”.
Good enough for me, Jeremy!
Rob hiyas mate well done
would you mind if i used your article??
is Jeremy not also beasts agent?
if this is final the Lions will have been shown the door by many players they tried to poach
then only uncertainty would be rory 
@sharks_lover (Comment 1) : no – so long as you link back to the source.
Jeremy is Beast’s advisor and mentor, but I believe his official agent is one of the ProSport guys.
what is also evident is that players that do leave the Sharks go overseas and not to another local union,
, well senior players that is
Juniors of course that are trying to make their mark and cant make the Sharks squad will go elsewhere
@robdylan (Comment 4) : it will be put as is with you as the writer
thanks boet , again good work as many are concerned about beast leaving
yup – Beast is on ProSport’s books.
See here
@sharks_lover (Comment 5) : Juniors like Luke Watson, Joel Stransky and Andy Aitken for example
@robdylan (Comment 4) : ah ok , well good mentor to have
i was a big fan of jeremy , good player
@sharks_lover (Comment 9) : Me 2 !
Asked Zandbergh Jansen about his bok chances about 15 years ago. Got a one liner reply :
Good Provincial, won`t make the step up.
I was not impressed
@Original Champion (Comment 8) : Luke we didnt want , andrew didnt make it to the Sharks and joel left because he was a cry baby because he did not want to fight for his place
yes there have beena few that went to another province , but its very few , james small being another and dick muir and aj all at the end of their careers
@Original Champion (Comment 10) : old zandberd jansen was one eyed as they come
Hate to stir up rumors ,but i have heard jpp is going to the lions ,well have to wait and see .To be honest I dont realy care who go`s becuase I have faith that the sharks will produce and secure talent that other unions would not be able to cook up and produce ,sharks will be a dominant force in rugby for along time to come ,regardless of ups and downs
@baw (Comment 13) : baw the rumours re jpp is over , he turned the lions down and has signed for another 3 years with the sharks, this happened just before the CC final
@baw (Comment 13) : the lions had offered him more then the sharks, but Jpp went with his heart, thankfully
the players approached by the lions were
kanko smitty jpp beast cockott mvovo and one other
they all re-signed at the sharks and will be staying there
@sharks_lover (Comment 16) : sorry cockott is the only uncertainty i am aware of
@sharks_lover (Comment 15) : 15 – You beat me to it Sharky
Was just about to answer to baw’s post.
lol@Puma (Comment 18) :
it seems a lot of these rumours are being started in WTR , they pretty desperate
Reckon kockott is a must to re-sign..think hoffman might go the utility back route..therefore we will need a tried and tested sh for s15..he has his shortcomings,but he must start working on them(passing game is way too unpredictable!!)
@bergshark (Comment 21) : I hope he does,I give him and Deysel credit for the 2008 cc.
@sharks_lover (Comment 20) : so Rhodes’s dodgy knee has given in again, I see… they slipped that into one of their articles hoping nobody would pick it up. Let’s hope they can keep him off the sauce long enough to do some rehab…
@sharks_lover (Comment 14) : okay thats great to know! Heard those rumours ,now ive heard they chasing him again ,its good to know he has a contract
oh you gotta love this! Seems the backstabber is also crocked
@robdylan (Comment 26) : And just who would that be ??
@Original Champion (Comment 10) :
You sure he HEARD you??
@Ice-Cool CC Champ 2010 (Comment 28) : Good point, maybe he just gave his ” generic” answer cause he couldn`t read my lips so lekke . . . ?
@chaz (Comment 22) : If they`ve got that much money, they should go directly to foreign stars.
One problem though, how would we tell Josh Strauss and Sabastian Chabal apart?
@Original Champion (Comment 30) :
the accent
@Zibbie (Comment 31) : Zibbie how have you been?
See the Lions odds shortened from 100 to one right down to 66 for the super 15?
Any idea what the bookies found out about you guys to make them change their minds?
@Original Champion (Comment 29) :
Nag ou Grote…
@Original Champion (Comment 8) : AJ Venter springs to mind
@baw (Comment 13) : i am with you on this one. The players also need to look after themselves career and money wise.
@sharks_lover (Comment 20) :
but seriously eg. Jantjies. But they also need a star like Jacques Fourie, been there done there to give them confidence and draw crowds I guess.
the lions should look at their youngsters they produced some good ones over the years like deysel, rockott
I really hope they will be more competitive in S15.
@Honey Badger (Comment 23) :
kockott was injured most of 2008 cc and then sat on the bench.
did you mean 2008 S14?
So relieved to hear Beast is still a Shark! Sharks-lover hi are you??
Nice to be back! IT blocked my access to the site. Must be Province boys!
@rekinek (Comment 37) : Maybe I am wrong but I just remember RK and JD having played a big part in the cc that year till the boks came back or am I confused?
@catfish (Comment 39) : do they use websense? Or something else? Send me a screenshot please?
Also, let me know if other similar sites (keo, etc) are also blocked?
@Original Champion (Comment 32) :
the beast chabal and frans steyn …
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 38) : hey hun doing great and on your side???
Okay – on a different “gaming” note….where can I get a Nintendo ds or ds light for the best price??
@sharks_lover (Comment 44) : great thank you. Just cant wait for S15 to start
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 46) : yeah me neither
@Sharksmad – The Blog’s Dudette (Comment 46) : good morning aunty ice blocks
@sharks_lover (Comment 47) :
Hi SL!
@robdylan (Comment 24) : lol so the lions got themselves a crocked player lol
well we actually good at buying crocked players and fixing them
“That is all I am prepared to say”
Man of many words I see, wonder if he called the moves in the backline in his day…
@sharks_lover (Comment 49) : glad we didn’t fix Mapoe properly… or maybe we did and they broke him again within 5 minutes of getting him.
@Morné (Comment 50) : hmmmm…. funny how people chose to read many things into this article. You read into it what I do.
@robdylan (Comment 51) : True , Rob i tell ya the guys at the Sharks are not happy with Mapoe, like he said
“The guy didnt even have the decency to greet after all we did for him”
and the DR from the Sharks that did fix mapoe
This is good news, I have said it before but the Lions need to get excellent junior structures in place before they will become a force. There are no quick fixes in rugby. Heyneke Meyer put structures in place at the Bulls when he took over there and then only did they start to turn around. Also, a lot of people give Dick Muir for turning the Sharks around after the Putt era but probably what the key to the Sharks revival was the estabilishing of the academy which gave Muir the raw material to work with.
@robdylan (Comment 24) : Rob where did you read about Rhodes and the poo? Call me a b!tch but I call it poetic justice -
The rhodes injury was revealed on wetalkrugby.com. As for Mapoe, it’s on his Facebook status.
@robdylan (Comment 56) : thank you Rob oh well how many games has he played? Guess the Sharks were sparea a sick note
@sharks_lover (Comment 53) :
The guy didnt even have the decency to greet after all we did for him
maybe he never intended to stay at the Sharks
and was going to the Snoils anyway 
