It was the first time they had started off a Vodacom URC season at home, and also a rare occasion they went into a new campaign off proper pre-season preparation, so the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ 41-24 win over the Ospreys can be seen as them converting an opportunity.
There were errors along the way, but with a big emphasis in this early part of JP Pietersen’s first full season as Sharks head coach being on the establishment of a playing identity built off a perceived DNA, the sizzling start would have been exactly what he hoped for. The off-loading featured in some of the early tries were reminiscent of the Sharks team that Pietersen played for in his own playing career under the coaching of John Plumtree 15 years ago.
There was a lot of energy to the Sharks’ performance, something you wouldn’t have said often in the more recent past, and the team got rewarded for what appeared to be a willingness to work harder both on and off the ball. The downside was that the star of the show, Luan Giliomee, will be heading to the Vodacom Bulls after this week’s home game against champions Leinster, something that came about courtesy of a deal struck between the two South African clubs.
The Sharks have their hooker recruit from Pretoria, Junior Bok captain Esethu Mnedebele, available straight away, in turn for Giliomee being available for the Bulls once they return from their current tour.
PURCHASE PERFORMANCE MAY HAVE BEEN A HAPPY ACCIDENT
However, Giliomee wasn’t the only standout performer, and given how Jurenzo Julius shone outside the young Janco Purchase in the latter’s URC debut game gives pause for thought over what Pietersen will do when two Bok midfielders, skipper Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker, return to the selection mix - which could be as soon as this week.
Pietersen did say he might look at bringing some players back, either in the starting team or off the bench, in the second game of the campaign, although a lot was going to depend on how the Bok players felt after their return from Perth. Either way, whether it is this week in the Hollywoodbets Kings Park game or the following week away against the DHL Stormers, Pietersen has options at the back.
“He (Purchase) was close to the man of the match in my eyes,” said Pietersen.
The youngster, as he showed in his first Carling Currie Cup season with the Sharks XV, does have a good knack of straightening the line and creating space and opportunities for the players around him, as well as strong defensive abilities. So it may have been a happy accident that he ended up wearing the No 12 after being offered the opportunity courtesy of the injury to Murray Koster.
OPTIONS AT THE BACK EVEN WITHOUT GILIOMEE
Makazole Mapimpi is on his way back from injury, as is Yaw Penxe, while Edwill van der Merwe is on his way back from the Boks, so the Sharks do have plenty of options on the wing, and young Zekhethelo Siyaya, who played off the bench at the weekend, can slot into the fullback position that will soon be vacated by Junior Springbok Giliomee. Given the way Vusi Moyo, already capped by the Boks, did at flyhalf, so can Jordan Hendrikse when he returns to the playing field.
“I thought that Vusi played like he had played 100 games for the Sharks rather than just two,” said the head coach about the young playmaker, who was perfect with his kicks off the tee and has good distance with his field-kicking boot.
Bok Aphelele Fassi is heading to Japan on a sabbatical, so he won’t be there to make his presence felt from the last line of defence, and Hakeem Kunene is already at Giliomee’s destination - the Bulls. So fullback is a potential problem area, but the Sharks do have options, and more than one once Hendrikse is fit.
Speaking of Hendrikse, his brother Jayden seems to have a new lease on life at scrumhalf, possibly due to being pushed by the arrival of veteran former Bulls and Saracens No 9 Ivan van Zyl, who Pietersen has spoken highly of for his contribution in training so far.
But perhaps after that opening performance, the acquisition we should really be talking about is that of Scott Mathie, the attack coach who learned his rugby in Durban and has arrived at the Sharks senior team via a stint at Edinburgh among other clubs.
It’s early days, but Saturday’s opening game was the first time in a long time that lack of apparent attacking shape could have been a talking point among Sharks fans and if anything, it is aspects of their defensive game that require more work right now.
INTERESTING TO SEE IF LOANEE HARTZENBERG FACES STORMERS
Leinster though will be a litmus test for the Sharks youngsters. Pietersen will expect to be closer to full strength for the Stormers game the following week, but it is winning the home games that is the real non-negotiable if you want to challenge for a top four finish that will secure home ground advantage in the play-offs.
Leinster were under-strength in their narrow defeat to the Lions as the players part of the Irish squad that played in the Nations Cup games during their summer were not available but some of their artillery may be back in tow for the Durban game. As it was, even the under-strength side was very competitive against the Lions in Johannesburg.
On the subject of the derby the following week, it might be interesting to see how Suleiman Hartzenberg is managed in the buildup to the Stormers game. He is on loan from the Cape club, he is not a permanent recruit, although after his positive all-round contribution at Kings Park Pietersen spoke about him as if there was a plan for him to move permanently.
“I can’t see him as a Stormers player anymore. He leads well defensively, he talks well on the field. I am happy to have his experience to help, especially the backs, where there are young players,” said the former Bok wing.
It is not known whether being a loan player means you are “cup-tied” when you play the team that you are contracted to on a more permanent basis but the Sharks do have other options out wide for the Cape Town trip should that be the case or should Pietersen not want to put Hartzenberg in a difficult position.