Breaking news courtesy of Andre Bloem at East Coast Radio is that the Sharks will also have to make do without Pieter-Steph du Toit this weekend.
The young lock has apparently picked up an injury and will not play against the Reds on Saturday. More news to follow on the revised team.
Update: The Sharks have confirmed that Du Toit injured his knee in training this morning and will need to go for a scan to assess the damage. Jake White and his team have yet to announce a replacement as of 1pm today. White had confirmed, though, that Ryan Kankowski will step up as lineout caller this week.
Further update: White has confirmed that Stephan Lewies will move from the bench into the number 5 jersey, but that a squad replacement for du Toit has not yet been named.
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Eish. 🙁
this is frankly terrible news.
@robdylan (Comment 2) : How bad is it?
Oh no! 🙁
Bresler to 5, Alberts to 4 and Tera to 7. Kanko can call the lineouts
Not good!
Yipeee, 3 stars!
no replacement named as yet…. White considering his options.
@Bump (Comment 7) : talk about a sudden change in emotion 🙂
@war1 (Comment 3) : he’s going for scans. It doesn’t sound promising.
Or rather, doesn’t sound like it’s just this week.
@robdylan (Comment 10) :
Oh my…
Lewies has looked good, but we lose a lot of carrying ability and a very good tackle count.
@robdylan (Comment 8) : Lewies, surely.
@war1 (Comment 12) : well, I think Lewies will start, sure. Not sure who the bench lock will be.
No this is not happening again ! PSDT , Jean, Paul ? Please may this be the only injuries ! And hope PSDT and Jean is minor. Lewies will struggle against James. Bressler to 5, Peet at 4 and Lewies bench.
Nee jislaaik man – a injury here and there is fine but hell please nothing like last yr – not again 😥
@Observer (Comment 14) : relax, breathe.
We will be ok. Trust the coaches. Trust the structures.
Whoever comes in will have 6 Springboks in the pack to guide him.
This is why you don’t throw in the towel when you’re only selected for the VC team….unless you’re number five or six in line, you’re in with a very realistic shot at playing SR.
Rob agreed. Just hope it is minor as the lineouts a critical component of attack. PSDT has settled very well in the 5 and caller role.
@Observer (Comment 18) : yes, agree with you. Big, big ask for Lewies to step into those shoes, but if he has a future as a 5 in this game, it’s something he’s simply going to have to learn to do.
Throw him in the deep end with Kankowski to back him up.
@robdylan (Comment 9) : 😆
Oh nee fokkie! Just hope is not too serias!!! We should be fine with all the players in the group… I hope…
@woody (Comment 5) : No, Alberts is not a locks backside. Lewies is a good player and will be fine at 5.
Peet Marais should be called up to the bench
Too many injries for our young SA players.
That is bad news. The Reds have some decent locks in Horwill and Simmons.
Glad Lewies is taking over the reigns. He’s a fine replacement. Hope Marais is next in line for a bench spot.
Oh no! Why is this happening to us? This is so unfortunate. Pray it is not serious. Wishing you a speedy recovery PSDT.
As others have said, we will be fine, our depth will come through and another player will get a chance, to get Super rugby experience.
Do you reckon Oosthuizen will come in or Peet Marais. Our pack is good plus the replacement has a lot to prove so expect lots from them. Got small amount of time to show what they are capable of, hopefully this is only precautionary.
I think Oosthuizen is closer than Marais is.
Marais named in Sharks XV team, so it’s not him.
@robdylan (Comment 29) : For some reason I thought Oosthuizen was injured. Guess not.
@vanmartin (Comment 31) : he definitely did have a niggle.
There’s a real left-field possibility that it’s Wentzel…
Injured agaaaaain?? :evil
Hmmmmm methinks he isn’t up to the rigours of senior rugby just yet. Unlike Etzebeth… oh wait he is also injured.
@KingCheetah (Comment 33) : ja, fair enough, boet…. you have a point.
Both Etzebeth and du Toit actually take real contact.
@KingCheetah (Comment 33) : I’m starting to believe that “good enough” is not necessarily “old enough”.
I heard some years back from a pro rugby player that using creatine made you more prone to knee ligament issues.
So I wonder if there is a way for sports scientists to check whether a player’s body has matured enough to handle the rigors of rugby (sounds like a piece of steak 🙂 ), or whether it is simply the volume of supplements these young guys use to bulk up for senior rugby?
@robdylan (Comment 34) : @FireTheLooser (Comment 36) :
Just ragging you lads a tad.. all in good fun. I actually don’t know what it is, but I suspect its more to do with the number of matches players play in the modern era.
Years ago the rugby season only started proper in May.. now we start in Feb, and it runs through all the way to December.. that is a lot of abuse that the body endures.
Hope the young man recovers quickly. We need guys like Lood, PSDT, Lewies and Ruan Botha to start developing for the future. We will be well served if those youngsters can step up. Imagine Eztebeth and PSDT starting, and then another giant like Lood/Ruan coming off the bench.
Or even worse having PSDT playing 7, and having 4 2m giants in your team!!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 36) : Well that just re-inforces my argument that heavy enough doesnt mean tough enough. Using guys like Goosen, Fisher, Jordaan etc examples…all have huge talent and yes probably do meet the height,weight and probably strength requirement but are their young bodies able to withstand the constant heavy contact…judging by their frequent injuries i would say no. Why don guys in New Zealand break down as often…because they earn their stripes in a matter of speaking. I do get the feeling that more and more youngsters in SA want instant recognition and senior contracts when they leave school. And having said that- how many guys after their school rugby season is done are taking “supplements’ to ensure they are bigger , heavier by the start of the following year…
@SheldonK (Comment 38) : I don’t know…. I guess some of the younger guys do get injured earlier, but it would require more research to get a definitive conclusion. Take Duanne Vermeulen as an example he was prob 23 when he suffered his 1st serious knee injury, and then he had recurring injuries almost every year.
I don’t think it is just a SA problem, maybe because we have more news exposure on our players. There are quite a few injuries amongst NZ/AUs players too. Vito, Shields, Cane just among the Canes.
@KingCheetah (Comment 39) : No look would def need more research and at the end of the day it is a contact sport played at a higher and faster intensity every year so you would expect to see more injuries to the main joints being knee, shoulder, neck. I just seem to see more and more of these core injuries in our younger guys