The Pumas have answered the Sharks call to play against them in a Super 14 warm-up match to replace the match that had been cancelled against the Cheetahs.

The Sharks were due to face the Bloemfontein team in Dubai this weekend at the start of the onfield part of their preparation phase to the southern hemisphere competition, but it was cancelled when the sponsors pulled out due to financial pressure created by the credit crunch.

Sharks coach John Plumtree was angered when the Cheetahs then organised a match against Griquas rather than agree to an alternative venue to their scheduled clash.

On Monday, however, the Pumas came to the Sharks’ aid by agreeing to host them in Witbank on Saturday.

The match won’t provide quite the same intensity the Sharks may have been hoping for from a game against the Cheetahs, but the switch in plan may be a blessing in disguise as it offers Plumtree an opportunity to run a line through the several young players who are coming through the system in Durban.

“It may not be the same intensity as a game against the Cheetahs, but we do have a game against the Bulls scheduled for the following week anyway, so we should get the required intensity from that,” said Plumtree on Monday afternoon.

“There have been several High Performance Centre players who have really impressed me in the past few months of the off-season, and this will be a great opportunity for me to see them play in match conditions.”

Plumtree said that up to 12 of the top Sharks players will sit out the Pumas match, which means the Witbank exercise will provide the franchise with a great test of its depth. But the young players will not be completely without star teammates from whom they can learn.

“We will take Jannie du Plessis, John Smit and Ruan Pienaar with for this game, but guys like Bismarck du Plessis, Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen, Ryan Kankowski and Johann Muller will remain behind. If we had been playing the Cheetahs, I would have taken some of those guys, such as Johann.”

Muller is to captain the side again this season, with Smit, who was away in France for the duration of the last Super 14 season, getting a chance to concentrate on his own game before leading the Springboks in the important series against the British and Irish Lions.

Plumtree has been pleased with the dramatic physical gains made by many of his players in the off-season, and this has prompted him to call for an extra internal trial game between the Sharks and a Sharks XV.

“We were looking forward to testing ourselves against the Cheetahs, but we do have enough opportunities to get ourselves match ready.”

The Sharks have been unlucky in terms of injury during the off-season, with four players, including Waylon Murray, Albert van den Berg and Jacques Botes undergoing operations, but Plumtree expects most of his men to be available for selection for the opening Super 14 match against the Stormers in Cape Town.

“Botes has a groin problem but we hope he will be ready for the start of the Super 14, Albert has a shoulder problem that could see him out until week two or three, while Waylon has undergone a knee operation. Hopefully he will be back in week two.”

Source: supersport.co.za

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