Q & A with new Shark Michael Claassens

The 32-year-old joined the Durban outfit from French club Toulon ahead of the Absa Currie Cup season. He formerly played for the Cheetahs before joining Bath.

Claassens came off the bench last weekend in the Sharks’ first Currie Cup outing against the Pumas last weekend.

Claassens thoughts on the youthful Sharks squad:

"I’m obviously new here and I’ve been training with the guys for about 2 months now. There is a lot of young talented players coming through which is always good for a Union. A lot of Unions go out and buy players and won’t bring their own players but at the Sharks that is not the case. There are a lot of guys away on Springbok duty and in Japan but we’ve got a very good squad. I’ve enjoyed my time here; we’ve been training hard and have been coach well. We just need the result; the weekend didn’t go how we’d like but I’m happy with the setup and I think we’ve got a good bunch of players."

Claassens on taking on the EP Kings this weekend:

"They’ll be up for the game because they took a hammering as well. They’ve got a guy like Luke Watson who will be making plans all week. They are unpredictable, whereas with the Pumas you know exactly what they are going to do. With EP, you need to expect the unexpected and make sure you’re ready."

Claassens on being both a mentor and player at the Sharks:

"I’m happy to be at the Sharks, it’s always a Union I’ve admired and when I was at the Cheetahs I used to come here on holiday and I always liked the Sharks. When I was overseas, I nearly came here six years ago but it didn’t end up happening. If I play and if I don’t, my attitude will always be the same. I’m happy to mentor some of the young players that come through – a guy like Stefan Ungerer played well in the last games of Super Rugby and went well in the warm up game, he is a very promising player. If I don’t play, I will always support and help him where I can and vice versa, we’ve got a very good relationship."

The Sharks take on the EP Kings on Saturday at Growthpoint Kings Park. Kickoff is at 17h05.

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