With as many as fifteen 2010 Vodacom Super 14 players missing from The Sharks last week, they expect to be bolstered over the coming weeks, starting this week with one, perhaps two more faces to add to their depth.

John Plumtree has confirmed that latest signing, lock Ross Skeate has been training with the side and is available for selection this week. “We have one or two niggles from the Griquas game, otherwise nothing much has changed on the injury list,” he said. “JP Pietersen trained on Tuesday, but the other chronic injuries are still chronic.”

Providing an update on injuries, he added that Odwa Ndungane and Jean Deysel are still out while Willem Alberts has had a cortisone injection in his ankle which prevents any running for two days. “I can’t see him making it this weekend,” admitted The Sharks coach. “Lionel Mapoe is still out, Adi Jacobs is still around five weeks off but we won’t bring him back until he is completely ready.”

Looking back to the Griquas match, Plumtree examined a few areas of their game. “There is work for us. I thought Pat Cilliers and Wiehahn Herbst – and Eugene van Staden when he came on – scrummed quite well, the scrum was pretty consistent. Also, at times we didn’t clear the ball well from the base when it was won.

“Our lineout was a bit disappointing. In the second half, we lost two which were important. One led to a try, the second one, with the strong wind, allowed them to gain 50 or 60m. We knew if we turned ball over when we had territory we would lose serious yardage because their kicking game was good enough.

That was the disappointing thing about the whole day; we dominated territory and possession, they had to make twice as many tackles as us, it was just through error that we allowed them to score four of their five tries.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s clash against the Blue Bulls at The Absa Stadium Durban, he accepted that like The Sharks, the Bulls will look to improve on the weekend after their respective first round showings. “The Bulls got into a 30 point lead after about 25 minutes and then switched off as it was pretty much game over by then. They didn’t play as well as they would have liked but will make a step up, so will we.

” There is never any lack of motivation when the two teams play each other Plumtree added. “Against the Bulls, there is always plenty. They get up for The Sharks as well, these clashes are always good, ones we look forward to. They have a lot of depth, especially in their pack, some good young backs as well so it’s going to be an interesting game this weekend.

“Last year we beat them both times in the Absa Currie Cup– we beat most teams twice last year – and didn’t get the trophy, so history doesn’t matter. People need to remember that we have quite a few new people involved now. It’s going to take a little bit of time and there are a few things I’d like to experiment with along the way with an eye to the future.”

Courtesy: Sharksrugby.co.za