Glimmer of light for Sharks as Steyn appeal is postponed
IN A WEEKthat has turned out to be quite like rugby’s version of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold has admitted the off-field challenges they’ve faced have been rather unprecedented.
Yesterday, the Sharks did get a reprieve when the appeal hearing into Francois Steyn’s red card from last weekend was postponed to Tuesday. After Sanzar’s bizarre decision to appeal the original finding of not guilty, the initial date for the appeal was set for today, but the Sharks will not be subjected to such a disruption on the eve of tomorrow’s crucial clash against the Western Force.
It would be perfectly understandable if the Sharks were rather miffed at the manner in which the matter has been handled, with some real questions being raised over the reasoning behind Sanzar’s belated appeal of their own decision.
And although Steyn will at least be able to line up at flyhalf tomorrow, the Sharks will have to go through another judicial process next week, which could affect the 27-yearold’s involvement in next Saturday’s allimportant encounter against the Crusaders.
The Sharks have also found themselves badly hit by the pre-arranged agreement with Saru regarding player management in a World Cup year. While this is something all SA franchises are having to grapple with, the Sharks do have a large contingent of key Boks in crucial positions, and this week they’ve got to the point where they’ve had to rest Marcell Coetzee, Cobus Reinach and Pat Lambie.
It’s added to the challenges in a week in which influential captain Bismarck du Plessis has been away as the result of a suspension.
“It’s been a week with some of the biggest off-field challenges we’ve experienced for a long while. But we have a great squad with lots of guys who spent a long time working hard during the pre-season here, and I have a lot of confidence in them,” said Gold.
“I’m excited about this as well. Resting some of the Boks means we have the opportunity to see some of our younger guys coming through, and some of the not so younger guys too,” he wryly added in reference to veteran Marco Wentzel, who was seated alongside him at yesterday’s press conference.
Wentzel was in fact in line to take on the Sharks’ captaincy for tomorrow’s game, but the return to fitness of Jean Deysel allowed the big flank assume that responsibility.
“It (the captaincy) was an interesting debate,” Gold conceded. “Ryan (Kankowski) was a strong consideration and Frans was as well… But Deysie is so conscientious, he knows the plans and he’s captained the team... so he fitted back in like a hand in a glove.”