Sharks have no idea of the extent of Lambie’s latest injury setback

DURBAN: The news yesterday about Pat Lambie’s latest injury was that “there is no news just yet” and an update will be released today after the usual scans and protocols have been followed when a player has had a blow to the head.

The luckless Lambie left the field 30 minutes into the Sharks’ match against the Kings in Port Elizabeth after a clash of heads with one of his own players, fullback Rhyno Smith.

Lambie is a born fighter, but this latest concussion will raise concerns about his future.

The Sharks lost the game 35-32 and coach Robert du Preez said after the match that it had been an unfortunate setback to lose his captain and flyhalf, and he would await the developing news on Lambie from Singapore, where the Sharks will be this week preparing for Saturday’s match against the Sunwolves.

“It was a great pity but we had a capable replacement (Garth April), and that (the loss of Lambie) was not why we lost the game,” the dejected coach said. “We have no idea of the extent of Pat’s problem, but obviously we are very concerned.

“Losing this game is very disappointing but we can’t have any complaints, we were outscored by four tries to two and that sums it up. We were under no illusions about how the Kings would come out against us. We were not caught unaware in the least. They have been playing really good rugby of late and we knew they were waiting for us.”

The Kings have now won three matches in a row and if they beat the Brumbies at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, it will make life even more uncomfortable for the suits in the Saru boardroom who are apparently set to axe the Kings and Cheetahs in a revised Super Rugby competition next year.

There were 20 000 fans at the stadium on the weekend and there will doubtless be even more this week now that the Eastern Province region has something to cheer about after so much rugby depression.

“It is fantastic for the Kings, they have been playing good rugby all year and it is great for Port Elizabeth,” the gracious Du Preez said. “It is what we need in South Africa (a revival in the EP area), it is encouraging for the game in this country to have more competitive teams playing well against teams like the Sharks.”

Du Preez said the key to the outcome of the match was the “passion” showed by the Kings.

“They kept going to the last minute and it paid off when we made a mistake in our 22 and allowed them the territory and possession to score the winning try,” he said.