Skipper Andre chuffed with vindicating Sharks win but wants more

Beating the DHL Stormers on their home field felt like vindication for the path he feels his team have chosen to take them forward but skipper Andre Esterhuizen definitely doesn’t want it to stop there for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.

The Stormers will arrive in Durban for their round 10 Vodacom URC clash thirsting for revenge for what happened to them in Cape Town and desperate to show that what happened in the 30-19 defeat definitely wasn’t the best version of themselves.

And it probably is true that in back on back games separated just by seven days, the team that lost the first is better off for the short turnaround.

However, while the Springbok hybrid player is expecting the Stormers to be much better at Hollywoodbets Kings Park than they were at DHL Stadium, he’s also expecting a lot more from his own charges.

And he says there is no shortage of motivation, and it goes beyond just needing to back up one good performance with another, something that the Sharks have struggled with in recent seasons.

We go again! 🥊

Let's give them a real Durban welcome and fill the Tank! 🦈@Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/xEWj5mK3Rz — The Sharks (@SharksRugby) January 27, 2026

“Obviously there have been changes made during the season and the win did justify what we are doing and where we want to go,” said Esterhuizen during a break in his team’s preparations for the return coastal derby.

“For us to play a game like that when we feel there is still so much to improve on is a good sign. We have plenty of motivation for this weekend. We won in Cape Town but the result didn’t lift us into the top eight, which is where we want to be.

"We’ve set ourselves the goal of getting into the top six, which we feel will give us the best chance of winning the competition from where we are now.

“It was a big win for us in Cape Town, but we know we must do it again. This is the last game before a break and we’d like to go into that break in a good mind space. So there really is massive motivation for us this weekend.

"We know the Stormers will be fired up to come and prove a point. They would have felt they had a bad day last week so we expect the best from them. But we know what is coming and will be going out to put pressure on them again.”

Coach JP Pietersen credited the improved form of the Sharks since he took over as interim coach to his decision to appoint Esterhuizen, who has been a one franchise player in his South African career as he started at the Sharks way back in 2014 under Jake White, as his captain. But whether he was just being humble or not, Esterhuizen refused to take the credit.

“It definitely was not me that turned it around. The plan got buy in from all the players, everyone is on the same page and there has been a changed mindset throughout the group,” he said.

“We’ve lifted our standards, we have lifted our training levels and I am a big believer that if you train better then you play better. But most of all it has been a mindset change, a focus on everyone performing at their best, every weekend.”

He said he was enjoying the role of team leader although it was never a role that he coveted.

“Obviously at first it was a bit strange for me, but it is nice to lead the team. I have the backing of the boys and the coaching staff and that makes it easier. I like to lead by example. I am a big believer that you can’t tell someone to do something if you are not capable of or able to do it yourself.”

Of course in Esterhuizen’s case the ambit of what he can do exceeds that of most players because at international level he is both a back and a forward thanks to Rassie Erasmus’ decision to turn him into a hybrid player.

He doesn’t think though that flanker will be a role he will ever fill in a Sharks starting team, even though there are some injuries to Sharks looseforwards currently.

“I can’t see myself needing to do that at the Sharks, we have too many class loose-forwards,” he said.

The Sharks team for the return Stormers game will be announced on Friday afternoon.