The Sharks brainstrust, it would seem, are perhaps starting to question the wisdom of letting so many established stars leave while in their prime and if whispers are to be believed, seem intent on luring at least some of them back. Scrumhalf Rory Kockott has hinted on Twitter that he might consider a return to Durban, in the latest twist.
We know that the Sharks have spoken to Frans Steyn, but as reported earlier, the Racing Metro centre is not keen to return to Durban and looks likely to play for the Cheetahs when he comes back to South Africa. I also heard talk earlier this week about another former Sharks player who has been wooed by Rudolf Straeuli and co, but has opted to show the proverbial middle finger after the way he was dumped a few seasons back.
Kockott suffered a similar fate, offloaded to the Lions without so much as a handshake after the Sharks signed Conrad Hoffmann in the off-season. Credible reports have suggested, though, that Straeuli has been in quite regular contact with the enigmatic scrumhalf, whose antics in France have seen his deal at Castres extended to the end of the French season. Kockott himself seems to have confirmed that talks are ongoing by saying that he may be seen in a Sharks jersey “sooner rather than later”.
Dare we wonder which other players might be considering a return? There were strong rumours linking Ruan Pienaar to a return earlier in the year, although those now seem to have gone quiet. Is it too much to hope that Bradley Barritt may also be on the list?
We’ll keep you posted.
Tweet
speculative, I know, but it’s the off-season.
Follow Rory on twitter here: http://twitter.com/rory_kockott
Jeez we can build a monster of a team with the Rocket, Pienaar, Barrit and Steyn back. Choices galore!!
I’d love to see Rory back, always liked the insane bugger.
Kockett is decent but then what do the Sharks do with McCloed and Hoffman who were brought in cos Kockett didnt suit Plum’s gameplan? And where will Pienaar play if he returned. And why it it only the names of backline players…what about some depth added to our forwards??
@robdylan (Comment 1) :
Can’t see the logic in bringing back Kockott. This would have to be a Straueli move.
Or Brad Barritt (who would no longer be available for SA) for that matter.
If a guy is bad for the locker room atmosphere, why wud a team want him back, irrespective of what he can do on the field. 😐
@beet (Comment 5) : A lot of the old guard has moved on, and there is space for characters in the team. I’ll welcome him back with open arms.
@beet (Comment 5) :
Wasn’t exactly a great scrumhalf either.
He was a good attacking scrumhalf, but a poor scrumhalf.
Rather bring Craig Davidson out of retirement 😉
@PTAShark (Comment 2) : did you not read the part where I said Steyn isn’t coming?
Outside of Sykes, Mostert, Pienaar & Steyn, I can’t think of any players that have left that would add any significant value.
I will be chuffed if Rory comes back…Mcloed and Hoffmann are seriously inconsistent, and Rory seems to have got his form back, again…the key is letting him kick for goal, he is a confidence player.
Let me guess the other player not mentioned i guess is Waylon Murray…i was thinking about him a couple of days back. How long is Robert Ebersohn’s contract at the cheetahs? He would sort out a huge amount of our problems.
I would also like a player like Johann Muller to join The Sharks for a couple of years at least…we very short of experienced locks at the moment…an injury to Skeate and we could be in a serious depth problem…need to get a lock, Scrummie and Outside Centre in…don’t know why The Sharks bothered on getting Whitehead, not going to sort out the problems.
…Should’ve tried harder to keep Mossie!!!
@hendrikp (Comment 9) : Add Muller to that list.
Rory is a far better scrummie than Hoffman is right now!
“I also heard talk earlier this week about another former Sharks player who has been wooed by Rudolf Straeuli and co, but has opted to show the proverbial middle finger after the way he was dumped a few seasons back.”
Who?
@Ben (Comment 12) : Waylon ??
Jeez imagine if we had these players how good we would have been
Muller
Mostert
Ruan
Frans
Brad Barrit
Waylon
@Mocho (Comment 13) :
Sharks have enough good locks. Muller adds no value when you can give Hargreaves opportunity to get form back.
Brad Barritt gone backwards with Saracens. Not even in contention for England anymore where he’s fallen behind Riki Flutey. Always been a tad overrated.
And Waylon Murray hasn’t done ANYTHING since leaving the Sharks. Been injured pretty much the whole time.
@hendrikp (Comment 14) : The thing is Muller can play 4 pretty well too. With the centres we have, Brad is more than good enough.
@hendrikp (Comment 14) : Muller can play 4 and 5…we need 4’s. Hargreaves can be good in the lineouts, everywhere else he is an average lock…IMO. Sharks need a 4 desperately…i was happy with Bresler at CC level; but i still think he needs a year or two to develop…i think we should’ve signed Hendrik Roodt from Griquas; but Lions already got him.
@hendrikp (Comment 14) : I watched a Saracens match the other day and he played pretty well. Took the ball up, set up a winning try and was solid on defense.
Murray was on the SA best 15 weekly on this site and other rugby website consistently as well, before he got injured. I remember there were a few articles complimenting him on his return to form with some famous rugby pundits actually touting him for Springbok colours. If I am not mistaken last years end of year tour he was dead certain to go but had a injury stopped him & they rather took Zane Kirchner and later Andries Strauss.
Muller is really experienced with stories last year that he volunteered to come help the Boks with lineouts. He was also seen hanging around Kingspark before the RWC helping the Sharks out here and there. Watched him this past week for Ulster and commentators were talking of him a potential man of the match. Sharks weakness is at locks and an experienced stalwart like Muller playing and helping the youngsters develop will be a blessing
@Ben (Comment 15) :
Not going to do the national cause any favors bringing in a player who is no longer eligible for Springbok selection.
Should ship out Michalak & that guy from the Lions as well.
Namibian nationals are the only ones we should be accommodating and there aren’t many of them.
great news
Would like to see this backline
9.Kockott
10.Lambie
11.Jp
12.Frans(know it isn’t going to happen)
13.Brad(also not going to happen)
14.Mvovo
15.Riaan
On the bench I would have
Freddie(scrumhalf/flyhalf cover)
Bosman(flyhalf/center cover)
Ludick(fullback/wing cover)
With the lonng season can rote with guys like adi(if he is staying),jlp,even some of the young guys.
@BR (Comment 19) : rote=rotate
@hendrikp (Comment 18) : As I understood it, playing for the Saxons would not disqualify him from playing for the Boks?
@Mocho (Comment 17) :
Been watching Saracens play pretty much every week, and Barrett hasn’t been anything spectacular. If you’re going to go for someone who isn’t eligible for Springbok selection, you’d be better off trying for somebody else!
Also, for a player getting injured as often as Murray, he would be a poor investment. Can’t see how he’d do any better then what the Sharks already have under the circumstances.
And again, I don’t see the Sharks having a weakness at lock. Bringing in Muller will only mean pushing Jandre Marais, Anton Bresler & Pieter Steph du Toit further back in the depth chart. They’ve got enough experience in the forwards to warrant picking a youngster or two, so why sign someone close to retirement again? You guys always complaining about it, but happy to bring Muller in.
@vanmartin (Comment 21) :
Wrong. The Saxons being the equivalent of an ‘A’ side.
If you play for a national side, their ‘A’ team, or their sevens team, you are no longer eligible for any other countries.
If he’d played for an age-grade side though, it would’ve been a different story.
@hendrikp (Comment 23) :
There is a possibility I could be wrong actually
Just noticed he played for the Emerging Springboks, but I’m not sure if that is the same thing.
My guess would be he is ineligible.
@hendrikp (Comment 22) : I couldnt disagree more with your observations on Barritt. He has been a stalwart in the Saracens side, and hold the backline together both defensively and on attack. He is in consideration for the England side, but has had untimely injuries that have ruled him out of national selection at crucial times. Until he runs out for England, he is eligible for SA, the Saxons appearances dont count against him. His return to the sharks would be a major coup. He would provide the defensive stability the sharks lack at 12 as well as the distribution to get the outside back away (provided a decent 13 is found to partner him).
@hendrikp (Comment 22) : Playing for the Saxons does not rule you out for eligibility. The last time I remember the Sharks actually had a good centre partnership was when Barrit and Murray played side by side. Nothing against Whitehead but Murray would have been a better investment if he was willing .
Nah, we’re sorted. Hoffman, mcleod, reinach and freddie for scrumhalves. And the youngsters that we develop to fill the rest of the voids.
Read this morning thay Heyneke reckons that the bulls rely on players that THEY developed in the Bulls frame rather than buying players from outside. Those that they do buy are rated as springbok quality (sadie, engelbrecht, cronje). Doesn’t say much of developing your own players when you go and buy from other provincial age group levels.
If he checks the attitude at the door he will be a good backup to what we have in McLeod.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 28) : Agreed. Especially after Hoffmans performance in the CC final. He looked like he was playing in molasses!!
I love what John Smit says in his autobiography. He says if the Sharks recruit the should recruit the best in the country or the potential to be, otherwise rather not buy. He goes on to say if the Sharks want to be the best in country this is what they have to do. I guess Rudolph skipped that page.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 25) :
Fair enough. Just don’t reckon he’s the solution.
Doubt he’d be interested in returning anyway though. Would be a bit of a waste of time moving over there to try play for England, only to return after a few years without having managed to do so.
@Mocho (Comment 26) :
Ok cheers. But how can you pay a player big money when he’s been injured 80% of the time. Would be like handing Andre Pretorius a 3-year contract and praying he doesn’t get injured – VERY UNLIKELY.
@hendrikp (Comment 31) : Yes, I would agree with that. Its not in Barritts best interests to return, thats for sure, and so I dont anticipate seeing him in black and white anytime soon.
@Mocho (Comment 26) : yes it does. Barritt is no longer eligible for SA
@robdylan (Comment 33) : My bad . Oh well , if he doesn’t get get Selected for the Poms I expect him to come back to SA to play for rugby
Very Happy to hear that my best player may be on the way back to the Sharks. Come home Rory!!! 🙄
My biggest problem is, what type of a scummy is best suited to Lambies general play. For Lambie to shine, you need a scrummy who plays very little individualistic, as Lambie controls a game best when he has quick ball form rucks and mauls and big runners coming off of him.
@robdylan (Comment 33) : Ok, seems I had it wrong too. Not that he would ever have received an SA call up. Not with JdV (the worlds greatest inside center), Frans (wicked boot but prone to brain implosions) Steyn, Meisekind (good grief what is it with Bulls players nicknames like Liefling, Meisiekind) and Juan (I wish JdV would just retire or go back to Ireland) de Jongh in front of him in the pecking order.
@Uli (Comment 36) : In other words any one of the largely anonymous kiwi scrumhalves bar Tinky winky Weepu.
@robdylan (Comment 33) : Just regarding Barrit, why are our Emerging Boks side not the same as the English Saxons side, with regard to qualification to a country?
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 37) :
If you’re being sarcastic,
I hate to tell you that all those players are still better then Barritt.
If meisiekind cut his hair & played for the Sharks you’d all be questioning why he’s not the starting 12 for the Springboks.
A lot of the criticism he’s had to endure playing for the Bulls has been unwarranted. He’s a lot better player then he sometimes gets credit for.
Juan probably the only one who might fall in behind Barritt as a 12, but he’s a heck of a 13.
@Uli (Comment 39) :
I think it had to do with test caps.
Tier-2 & Tier-3 nations would receive test caps for playing against teams like the Emerging Springboks, but I don’t think Barritt played against sides that received test caps.
That’s just a guess though.
@hendrikp (Comment 40) :
That’s just my opinion of course
I would like to see Kockott back at the Sharks.
Just remember him and Ruan have a blinder of a game against Stormers in S14 just before they both left. Not forgetting our loosies who were awesome that day.
Heck would love to see Barritt back too. Heck it would be a coup to get Fransie back. I know he wants to go to Cheetahs, but give it to him in writing that we would play him only at inside centre. Make him a offer he can’t refuse…. 😎 .. Just a pipe dream I know.
We let far too many talented players slip through our hands. Time to try and get some back. I think it is also time to give some of our youngsters a chance, probably the best way to go. We really won’t have a clue what we have unless we start playing them in SuperRugby.
@hendrikp (Comment 40) : Agree to disagree dude. Mesiekind has been good at superrugby level, but thats his ceiling. Just as Kanko has recieved criticism (probably failry) for being anonymous at international level, meisiekind is in exactly the same boat. Even his superrugby form is waning, go watch the 2011 Bulls vs Crusaders game again. He was owned by Sonny Bill, and thats being polite. JdV is on the wane too. Look for De Jongh to start making the 12 jersey at province his own. JdV will be shifted to wing. Watch this space 🙂 Steyn is good, no doubt, IMHO the best of the bunch, but is still prone to making those brilliant decisions that have made him so loved on this forum over the years. Barritt is solid on defense, good on attack, and consistent. What more do you want from a 12?
@hendrikp (Comment 41) : mmmmm not 100% sure, but to think about it, if my memory serves me right,I think it might have to do that SARFU has not registered Emerging Boks as a official SA -“A “ side with the IRB….
@BR (Comment 19) : Would be a brilliant backline that.
@Uli (Comment 46) :
You’re probably right.
In hindsight it probably wasn’t a great decision by SARU to not lock them in if they could have (question marks around that), but at the same time I’m all for Barritt playing elsewhere since he’s not exactly what we need at 12 for the Springboks. Let him try establish himself for the English side. He’ll have a tough time even making it ahead of Farrell though.
@hendrikp (Comment 48) : true
@Puma (Comment 44) : I would even throw captaincy in there, anything just too see Frans back in the black and white
@KSA Shark © (Comment 28) : I actually hope Rocket can come and make 9 his jersey, again…that one superugby season he was insanely good…Mcloed…makes soo many basic errors, he still plays like an amateur rugby player…his kicking from the base is average, knock on the ball very often, and when we get fast go forward he calls in the forwards to make a pod, and slows it all down…WTF 👿
Rob,
Cough it up mate! Who showed the middle finger 😳
@dawj (Comment 52) : I can’t say bud… was asked not to.
@robdylan (Comment 53) : Ok, wink once if it was Johan Muller, twice if it was Waylon Murray, three times if it was BJ Botha and hold your nuts and cough if it was Gary Teichmann.
@Pablo Dinero (Comment 54) : burps and farts…
@robdylan (Comment 55) : What!!! Andy Goode????
Would it be crazy for me to suggest kockett will come back to have a shot at a springbok call up? I rate him higher then mcloed and with kockott so accurate with his goal kicking we wouldn’t need m steyn at fh we could play lambie there, who else could be the next boks scrummie apart from hougaard?
@robdylan : Gotta be Waylon…
Should have never let Kockott and Waylon!! Shows how short sighted Rudolph is. Why would Waylon want to come back when he can stay at the Lions and be coached by Carlos.
@JJR (Comment 58) : I’m not revealing who it is, but keep guessing… it’s fun to watch
@GreatSharksays (Comment 59) :
Why would the Sharks want a guy who’s always injured?
I can’t imagine being coached by Carlos would play much part in deciding where to play.
plzz not Pienaar.
If Frans Steyn goes to the cheetahs he would really be a tard.
@hendrikp (Comment 61) : can we agree that Doppies had a blinder CC 2011? Can we agree that the Lions’ backline was the best backline in the CC and was the most potent? Can we agree that in a normal world constant good perfomances will give you top honours?? Can we agree that coaching goes a long way in developing a player’s skills? Now why the heck would a backline player currently playing for the Lions want to join the §harks with our current set up? Forward, yes as I believe we have the best pack!
Bring back kockott ( but please,if he still doesn’t have a sh pass,then work with him till late into the evenings and even early into the mornings until he has one – coaches,please…!!).
I’m still hoping to see frans steyn at the sharks.
We need a lock who brings experience and quality ( losing both sykes and mostert in one season was hardly ideal.and then not carrying on with developing bresler and jandre marais was just not smart.even with both bresler and jandre marais there,I’d still like for another old hand in the mix at lock and a 7/4 forward re: to rotate with alberts,deysel.and cover lock.
Good News, sign Kockott immediately!
Now about Brad Barrit . . .
Kockott signed a deal with castres till end of french season just the other day ,though.. Wonder how soon soon is them?shouldn’t have been let go ( coaches shouldve worked on his passing game – like a wrote earlier concerning his passing game _ prior to moses mabhida been completed.they shouldve taken him to the building site and let him pass bricks :-|).
Maybe straueli watched some lord of the rings? Because there is a Lord of the rings “the fellowship of the rings” quote that springs to mind : “I’m old ..I feel thin.sort of stretched.like butter sctratched over too much bread.”
I’d like to see Kockott at 12 or 13…would be an interesting test of his versatility.
@ comment 60,
Has to be Brad 😯
Barritt would be a welcome addition for our weak midfield. Can’t see him leaving the UK unless his rugby career has stalled.
Wouldent mind Rory back at the Lions as well . but who knows hey …
Hope this happens! If we can get Brad Barritt back, I know Crabman isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I would hope we’d bring Waylon Murray back too. Brad brought the best out of Waylon. Frans Steyn might be SA’s SBW with a bonus big boot, but he’s as much of a liability with his ego as he is an asset – so good luck to the Cheetahs, maybe Oom Naka can keep him in check.
9.Kockott/McLeod/Hoffman
10.Lambie/Michalak/JLP
11.JP/Lwazi
12.Barritt/Bosman
13.Murray/Jacobs/Joubert
14.Ndungane/Sithole
15.Viljoen/Ludik
MerckZ (comment 72) : that certainly does look like a team i would field
@MerckZ (comment 72) : that does look like a mean team
@Predawn (Comment 68) : 😯
@MerckZ: need to go after steyn and get him back at the sharks.
I think the player that didn’t wanna return to the sharks is waylon murray..