U20 Bok skipper keen to grab chance at Sharks

The outside centre joined the Durban outfit following the 2016 season, saying goodbye to the Southern Kings in his home town of Port Elizabeth. The 20-year-old has two Super Rugby caps to his name and performed well for the Junior Boks, who ended up with a 4^th place finish at the U20 World Cup earlier this year.

The current Sharks squad is full of a number of exciting youngsters and the departure of some key backs could well lead to Ward getting a look in early next season.

Paul Jordaan left a void in the Sharks midfield following his departure to France after the 2016 Super Rugby season but Lukhanyo Am stepped into the position and showed plenty of promise in the Currie Cup. Ward and Am are likely to battle it out for a starting berth in the number 13 jumper next season.

It’s hardly surprising that Ward had a number of options on the table ahead of the 2017 season but he chose to come to Durban with hopes of becoming an established squad member.

“There were a few other options on the table but ultimately I just wanted to be a part of the Sharks environment. They give you opportunities and I’m here to take it, should it come my way. I’m looking forward to being involved here and getting some games under my belt in the coming season."

Having settled in, Ward says the focus in the preseason has been on conditioning and team building, with some healthy competition in the various preseason activities plain to see.

“It’s been step-up and quite a shock to the system getting involved with the Sharks straight away. This preseason has been a lot of hard work but the boys have really bought into what we want to achieve,” Ward said.

“We know if we want to be successful we have to put in the hard yards and that starts now in the preseason."

Coach Rob du Preez has a reputation for putting his players through their paces in training and he has mixed things up over the last seven weeks. The players have gone from training in boxing dojos to informal team events on the beach – all of which are beneficial according to Ward.

“It certainly is advantageous. We’re hitting the body with a lot of different types of fitness to get us ready for any situation on the field. It’s important that you don’t do the same things over and over again – so it makes no sense for us to be running on the field for 60 minutes every day. It’s been good, doing stuff like throwing beer kegs around and boxing.”

While experience is key to a successful Super Rugby campaign, the Sharks have a number of exciting youngsters that showed real promise this year. The likes of Andre Esterhuizen, Curwin Bosch, Stefan Ungerer and Garth April have bright futures ahead of them and Ward believes the junior players can have a positive impact on the team’s season.

 

 “It certainly does. We talk a lot about creating our own legacy and we have a real opportunity to do that. There’s a load of youngsters in the backline and we’re looking to express ourselves and play a good brand of rugby.”

On that note, Ward says the Sharks aim to be highly competitive next year, although it seems that there is a real acknowledgement that the team is still in its infancy with a new coach and young players.

“There’s always a plan, I’m not here to give too much away though. You never go into a competition not wanting to get the best out of it. We’re looking to compete at a high level and if we play the rugby we know we can with the talent we have in the team, we know we can go far.”

It seems we can expect more of the same from Rob du Preez’s Sharks next season. He encouraged the team to play expansively during the Currie Cup, but they will have to blend that with some level-headed tactics if they are to be successful in Super Rugby next year.

“That’s how rugby has evolved. Teams are scoring more tries and taking chances from areas they wouldn’t usually try from. It’s obviously about expressing yourself but it’s also about being smart. We’re looking to play an expansive, exciting brand of rugby but we have to be smart in that. That will decide how far we go,” Ward said.

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