The Sharks have released a full injury report, including the unfortunate news that Cobus Reinach will be out of action for 9 months after sustaining an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury against the Highlanders.
The rest of the injury report contains mixed news. Pat Lambie is fit for selection, as are Francois Kleinahns and Tera Mtembu. Further setbacks mean it will be a while before we see the likes of Ruan Botha and Jacques Potgieter take the field.
Here’s the full list:
Name of Player | Injury |
Cobus Reinach | – ACL injury (right knee); – To undergo surgery; – Out for 9 months. |
Francois Kleinhans | – Fully fit and available for selection. |
Inny-Christian Radebe | – Meniscus Tear (right knee); – Out for approximately 4 weeks. |
Jacques Potgieter | – Ankle rehab; – Approximate return in 5 weeks. |
Marcell Coetzee | – ACL injury; – Operation was successful; – Out for 9 months; – Rehab to commence shortly. |
Patrick Lambie | – Fully fit and available for selection. |
Philip van der Walt | – Neck injury; – Approximate return in 2/3 weeks. |
Ruan Botha | – In the final phase of ankle rehab; – Expected to return in 2/3 weeks. |
Tera Mtembu | – Fully fit and available for selection. |
Wandile Mjekevu | – Bone bruise on right knee; – Expected to return in 2 weeks. |

Glad Lambie is back and happy to see Tera fit as well. Hope he gets some game time in the CC qualifiers soon.
As for Botha hope to see him make a recovery before the end of the season and see him get his first official cap for the Sharks.
Best of luck to the rest of the guys.
Yeah I agree. I am looking forward to seeing Botha. Mjekevu no loss sad to say as I was a fan but…defence wise without him we have been better. Cobus…loss…depth here a worry. Lambie is good news and he needs plenty game time after 2 season injurues in a row. Was a possible Bok capt candidate but with injuries maybe no longer. Beast, Daniel, Coenie need to find form and…shall we say hunger!
Lots of quality on the injured list. Good to see some of them back to fitness.
Jacques Potgieter has to be the worst buyer week 10 and he hasn’t stepped on to the training field and another 5 to go.
Seriously helluva lot of money to pay fora Currie Cup player
@The hound (Comment 4) : he won’t even play Currie Cup cos he’s fokololoing back to Japan
looks like Hanco Venter is suddenly back in the mix
Terra back!! Hell yes
15.Garth april
14.Sbura sithole
13.Jp petersen
12. Jordan
11.Mvovo
10. Lambie
9.Classens
8. Terra mthembu
7.Deysel
6.Keegan
5.Andrews
4.Botha
3.Adriaanse
2.Chili
1.Beast
I know its very unlikely but I would love to see this team this weekend. Rest both du preez, our locks and willie use them in argentina
@Poisy (Comment 7) : not a bad team but Botha is still injured.
Personally I’d like to see April and Heimar to start at 10 and 12.
@robdylan (Comment 6) : well with Cobus out it’s not a bad thing as it will give the coaches some options at 9.
@The hound (Comment 4) : @robdylan (Comment 5) : look they needed someone to takeover the spot on the medical table left open after the departure of the “nottobementionedone”!
@JD (Comment 8) : damn it I missed botha on that list. Maybe one of our other 4 locks can fill in I just think we really need to rest the du preez and our 1 of our centres if not both along with willie
@Poisy (Comment 7) : thats what I said when I saw he was back
Terra you beauty, so glad your back, now we can properly rotate, with klienhans also back
pottie and botha still a lose
but we can use Dave and the namib lock whose name I never remember
@Sharkfinn (Comment 2) : I disagree with your accessment of wandile, yes he didnt have a great currie cup but not many players in our squad did, and he looked great in pre season
@Poisy (Comment 11) : @revolverocelot (Comment 12) : I would be very tempted to play Deysel at 4 and let Terra and/or Frana play, as for backs I love to see Heimar and Sithole also start.
@JD (Comment 13) : I hear you
i jus wonder how soon we can through tera and frana into the mix.
Its strange though as when its a very popular player were all in, but when its not the most high profile player we gradually play them. just a obeservation, though im glad lambie can play this week, so glad.
would love for sithole and heimar to play this week bro, they are definitely full fit, and the currie cup did get a bye last week so maybe we see khaya and Unievi in the mix as well.
@revolverocelot (Comment 14) : personally I would gradually ease Pat back into action rather than have him start the next game.
When last has Terra played a game of rugby?
My Bok scrumhalf would be Claasens….find me anybody better than him in SA (and Europe), injured or not.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 16) : he played a CC warmup game.
@JD (Comment 18) : Good to know, do you know how many minutes he went, his match fitness must be shot after his long injury lay-off.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 17) : Easy! Charl McLeod.
@gregkaos (Comment 20) : Where’s he playing these day? Haven’t heard his name in ages.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 21) : Grenoble. Haven’t actually followed any of the Top 14 so no idea how he is doing right now either. But def one of my fav 9’s.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 19) : not sure how long he played but it was not the whole game.
@robdylan (Comment 5) : That is actually so funny. Does the Sharks have the best medical facility in SA? Sure as hell sound like it… and we also don’t mind providing this recovery service. Ja nee kyk. By the way, when does Potgieter’s contract end. (And please don’t say once he has recovered. 😆 😆 )
@gregkaos (Comment 22) : He’s doing well. Watched him play against Castres a couple of weeks ago. Was excellent to see his battle with Kockott. Ended fairly even!
Good luck with the recovery, Cobus…
Am I the only one who is a touch livid (can one be a TOUCH livid?! :lol:) that a player (Cobus) can be out for 9 months as a direct result of a blatantly illegal tackle by a player (Sopoaga) and yet that tackler is neither carded in the game nor punished subsequently, not even with one of those commissioner warnings…harumph!
@Villie (Comment 25) : Thanks for the update Villie! Thats great to hear.
So its pretty likely that Jacques Potgieter wont play a single game for the Sharks this year…great! Interesting to see where they deploy Mtembu and Kleinhans. I see the Sharks CC side play after the super rugby side on Saturday.
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : When I saw that Reinach was out for 9 months that’s exactly what I thought. But if I get angry all I’m going to do is upset myself as there is sweet F all I can do to change that. It is a good talking point though and one that I would like to be raised.
@Villie (Comment 25) : @gregkaos (Comment 22) : How is Garth Wright doing in France. Trust Jake to steal that guy from under our noses.
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : Same here. Though not a touch livid.. but rather quite f… furious! That he ended a player’s season (never mind a star player at that!), and got away with it absolutely blows my mind.
Really sad news for Reinach, but glad to hear some of the others have recovered, especially Lambie.
Our loosies depth is suddenly well stocked again, which is good for rotation.
Wishing all the others a speedy recovery.
@Bokhoring (Comment 31) : Garth Wright. 😆 what a nice bloke but not playing anymore. Cameron Wright is the man that Jake pocketed.
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : Fully agree, it was a horrible tackle and Reinach is lucky he didnt get a shoulder directly to the throat as well.
@pastorshark (Comment 27) : I really wish that in instances like this the perpetrator could be sued in a civil court for various things – that would cut down these acts of thuggery in a hurry.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 34) : 😳 Cam Wright – that guy has a sweet pass from the base. No two steps sideways – just pickup and pass.
@FireTheLooser (Comment 17) : @gregkaos (Comment 20) : Pretty sure Ruan Pienaar will get a call up.
Anyone been watching James Hall playing for the Kings? Looks like a very decent scrummy, good quick pass, no nonsense type player which is just what the Sharks need. Has a very long kick, has kicked 60m penalties before.
Also he’s home grown, Durban born and bred. Can’t believe the Sharks didn’t sign him up.
@jonnow (Comment 39) : Yeh he is a youngster from Kearsney. Threw his lot in with EP straight out of school after playing for KZN Craven Week side. He still makes mistakes as you expect from a youngster behind a struggling pack but definitely has good potential. Perhaps he viewed the scrumhalf line at Kings park as being too long
@vanmartin (Comment 38) : yup no doubt he will. Just hope the gameplay suits his style. (Such as not having to pass to a flank all the time) He is consistently owning it up for Ulster.
@Farlington (Comment 24) : unfortunately that might just be the case?!?!
@jonnow (Comment 39) : Yep, he has been good, considering…
We can probably add Tristan Tedder to that list of injuries…i see he is off to Toulouse at end of June. Flyhalf queue too long for his liking it seems.
@SheldonK (Comment 44) : if that’s true it will be a real pity but you can’t blame him!
@JD (Comment 45) : Yeh saw the write up on the Kearsney Old Boys Page..leaves end of June. He is technically behind Lambie, April, Radebe. Same reason Rob DuPreez and Jean luc Duplessis left for WP…
@SheldonK (Comment 46) : ja sad news but think maybe the lure to play international rugby even if it’s for France could also play a role?!
@JD (Comment 47) : The French do like their little flyhalves 🙂
@SheldonK (Comment 48) : ja they had a couple of gems just think of Michalak!
Sharks too.
You must have seen Bader Pretorius play – schools flyhalf last year, what are your thoughts on him?
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 50) : Yeh saw him play- Michaelhouse boy if i remember right…wont hold that against him. But yeh good player but like Rob DuPreez i think he would be a better 12 than 10. Well thats if we go against the SA tradition of trying to play a flank type player at 12
@JD (Comment 49) : Now theres a guy who i wouldnt mind seeing as a skills coach in Durban…
I saw him playing at the Academy Week in 2014, he was massively impressive and he was very good at Craven Week last year, scored many tries. I was really hoping that he would stay at the Sharks but with the signing of Curwin Bosch I suppose very few would hang around. I think the Bulls have got him. Another very talented 10 from last year was Bolands Adriaan van der Bank, Im sure we will still hear a lot more of these 2 in years to come.
@Salmonoid the Subtle (Comment 53) : Yeh it is tough to hang onto all the top kzn schoolboys, well at least whilst they are juniors. But perhaps those are the guys we need to approach later on in their careers when they stuck behind many guys at the top level at the Bulls, Stormers etc
@SheldonK (Comment 52) : he was a real joy to watch especially when playing against NZ!!!
@JD (Comment 55) : He does also understand the Sharks union and the way things are done in Durban…so not the worst option
@SheldonK (Comment 56) : for sure would love to see him back in Durbs!