Emile’s injury soured otherwise strong start to Sharks’ URC preparations

Just like Maurice Chevalier once penned a song that had the chorus line of “Thank Heaven’s for little girls”, so Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree might be singing a similar tune right now - only with Marvin Orie replacing the “little girls” when Plumtree is whistling along.

Orie has moved to Durban following his brief stint with the Vodacom Bulls, for whom he was contracted for only the Carling Currie Cup season, and according to Plumtree the Springbok lock who was part of the DHL Stormers Vodacom United Rugby Championship title winning campaign in 2022, has shown potential to make a good contribution for his new franchise.

Orie has been contracted for the season and the reason that Plumtree should be singing about his arrival is because the timing has been most fortuitous for the Durban franchise - the loss of Emile van Heerden to what looked a serious shoulder injury coupled with the injury sustained earlier in the Currie Cup campaign by Corne Rahl has left Plumtree with holes to fill in his second row.

“I feel so sorry for Emile, he has had so many injuries and I spoke to him after the game and told him how much I feel for him at this time,” said Plumtree.

Van Heerden, the son of former Western Province captain and Springbok flank Fritz van Heerden, was injured playing for the Sharks XV in the final Currie Cup game against the Airlink Pumas, a match that doubled as the first URC warmup game for Plumtree’s charges.

The Sharks won 19-14 against the Pumas and as there was always going to be inevitable early season rust, Plumtree should have been happy with how his team went. Jordan Hendrikse is only set to come back into the mix next week so he should have been particularly pleased with the early season form of Siya Masuku at flyhalf, while the young scrumhalf Ceano Everson, who came on later in the Currie Cup game, made an immediate impact to go with his good game against the Boland Kavaliers in Pietermaritzburg the previous week.

Speaking of that exciting win over the Bolanders, Jean Smith, son for Franco, started to look the part of a really talented flyhalf in that match. Unfortunately a bout of flu prevented him from taking part in either of the games against Saracens, which was played by a Sharks Invitational team, or the Pumas.

GOOD TO SEE LUKHANYO BACK

Who did play against Saracens was Bok centre Lukhanyo Am. Coming off a long injury layoff, Am comfortably got through the first half before being replaced as per the plan. Another Bok, Jason Jenkins, also got some game time under his belt in that first half, and Plumtree will want to see all of his locks fit after what happened to Van Heerden.

The Sharks have some interesting but perhaps raw newcomers coming through at wing. Phikolomzi Sobahle looks a good one at right wing, while on the other wing the tall and strongly built Paschal Ekeji is hard on the ball in the aerial battle and has the ability to strike fear in his opponents but might just need to work on his skill set.

Blitzbok Sevens star Christie Grobbelaar played against Saracens and looked pacy and willing to look for work, something evidenced in him popping up in the line and producing a deft touch in the attack that led to Jaco Williams scoring in the left corner early in the game.

The Sharks will be following up the opening warmup fixtures by heading to George this weekend to face the DHL Stormers and several other players who did not feature against the Pumas or Saracens (who beat the invitation side 38-26), such as Jurenzo Julius, will be back in the selection mix for that game.

Another player who has done his stocks a world of good in the Currie Cup is the Junior Springbok flanker Matt Ramoa, who has become known to his coaches as “The Silent Assassin. Another Junior Bok, Albie Bester, has some developing to do, but has also impressed in his appearances in the No 12 jersey.

REINFORCEMENTS DUE IN AHEAD OF TOUGH URC START

Unfortunately Van Heerden is not the only player who will be on the injured list in the first part of the season, with the highly promising young hooker Ethan Bester only set to return from injury in December, and the Sharks will also be without their Springboks during the initial phase of the season that coincides with the last two rounds of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

However Plumtree has built up a good relationship with the Pumas, and several players who were in opposition to the Sharks this past Friday night should be reporting to training in Durban shortly. Some of the Griquas players may also soon be Durbanites, depending on how deep they go in the knock-out phase of the Currie Cup, at least on a temporary basis, as all of the newcomers will be on loan deals.

The Sharks have a particularly tough start to the season with the two most recent winners of the URC, Glasgow Warriors and Leinster, featuring among their first three games. The Leinster game will be in Dublin after what should be an under-strength South African tour for the champions but, as luck will have it for the Sharks, their game will coincide with the weekend where Leinster’s British and Irish Lions contingent should become available to play for their provincial side again.