Blank slate for Cell C Sharks
The Currie Cup is just three weeks away and the Sharks have been hard at work putting a forgettable Super Rugby season behind them.
A large squad featuring players both young and old have been put through their paces over the past three weeks as they look to begin a new chapter of Sharks rugby.
Backline coach Sean Everitt was upbeat ahead of a team-building trip to Margate next week. Everitt said the side was looking forward to working off a blank slate in the Premier domestic competition.
“It’s been great, the guys have been in good spirits and are obviously excited about a new competition and a new campaign where we can start from scratch. The guys have worked hard on their conditioning and it’s been an opportunity for us to work on core skills as well as new things we’d like to implement in the Currie Cup. That motivates the guys and they’re keen to impress in the first game,” Everitt said.
Part of that blank slate is the number of new faces at Growthpoint Kings Park. With the World Cup just three months away and the Rugby Championship kicking off this week, all the Sharks’ Springboks are away – granting opportunities to other players in the setup. The team building getaway will also help the team gel as a unit.
“We’ve got a new bunch of guys coming into the team, we’ve got chaps from oversees. Michael Claassens from France, Joe Pietersen has joined us from the Free State. Plus we have Phillip van der Walt and some juniors coming in so it will be nice for them to mix and get to know each other. For us, it’s about building some team spirit before the competition starts but most importantly planning and working together,” Everitt said.
With a squad full of new faces, Everitt said there is a double focus for the Currie Cup. Number one priority is to win the competition, while introducing players to the rigours of first-class domestic rugby in an effort to prepare them for Super Rugby.
“The Currie Cup is probably one of the toughest competitions in the World. We talk about Super Rugby, but here it’s about local talent trying to have a go at each other to earn a space in the Springbok setup. But at the same time it’s a development process to see if the juniors are good enough to step up to Super Rugby. Every franchise wants to do well, especially because the South African teams didn’t perform as well as they would have liked to so this is an opportunity to get the spectators behind them and bring home a trophy.”
Centre Paul Jordaan is expected to return to full practice next week, while Jean Deysel is still working through his recovery process.
The Sharks face the Pumas in their Currie Cup opener on 7 August.
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