Several Springboks have joined up with the Sharks ahead of Friday night’s URC clash against Cardiff at the Arms Park.
This was confirmed by forwards coach Warren Whiteley on Tuesday.
Captain André Esterhuizen, Edwill van der Merwe, Ethan Hooker, Ox Nché and Thomas du Toit were rested for last Saturday’s 40-33 away win against Lyon in the opening round of the EPCR Challenge Cup, while Eben Etzebeth, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vusi Moyo and Makazole Mapimpi were all on the casualty list.
“Yes, they’ve joined us this week, and we’ve only had one session,” said Whiteley when asked about the Boks.
On whether the Sharks had any injury concerns ahead of Friday night’s match, Whiteley said: “No, nothing that I’m aware of. I think they’re all available and all flew across.”
The Sharks began their URC campaign with home wins against the Ospreys and Leinster before suffering a 39-22 defeat to the Stormers in Cape Town, which saw them drop from first to fifth on the log.
They now face Cardiff and Munster in Limerick over the next fortnight before the competition takes a month-long break for Test rugby.
Cardiff – coached by South African Corniel van Zyl, a former lock – also started their URC campaign with two wins, beating the Scarlets away and Zebre at home, before going down 29-5 to Leinster in Dublin.
The Welsh club is coming off a 28-12 away defeat to the Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup.
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Whiteley said the Sharks had quickly shifted their focus to Cardiff after their dramatic victory over Lyon.
“They are a quality team, and we know Corniel has a lot of experience when it comes to the set-piece, especially the lineout.
“He’s an astute lineout coach, he’s very smart, and I’ve coached against him the last couple of years.
“So it’s going to be a massive battle, and that will be one of the big areas of the game.
“The set-piece will be huge, and they’re also tactically a very smart team. So that will also be a huge battle – the kicking game from both teams.
“He will know us intimately, and we know him quite well as coaches and as a group.
“It’s a nice challenge for us.”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
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Several Springboks have joined up with the Sharks ahead of Friday night’s URC clash against Cardiff at the Arms Park.
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