A SANZAR Judicial Hearing dismissed the citing of Frans Steyn following the match against the Chiefs which obviously is a huge relief for a team who cannot afford to keep losing players.

Sharks Media Release

With Cobus Reinach flying home after suffering an ankle injury (to be replaced by Tian Meyer), there wasn’t all good news coming out of the camp, so the not-guilty result of Steyn’s hearing is indeed great relief for The Sharks.

Steyn was alleged to have acted in breach of Law 10.4 (h) [A player must not charge into a ruck or maul, including contact made without the use of arms or without grasping a player], but having carefully considered the available evidence and the submissions of the legal representative of The Sharks, Mr Gerrie Swart, Jannie Lubbe SC concluded that it was not possible on the balance of probability that Steyn was in contravention of the laws.

“Our midfield been decimated, so it’s fantastic that we have relief there with Frans’ not guilty verdict,” said Sharks coach John Plumtree.

On reflection of the Chiefs’ match when The Sharks staged an incredible fight-back, the disappointment was that they couldn’t do more to win the game.

“I was fairly disappointed in the early lead we conceded, those three soft tries,” he admitted. “One was well-worked from a lineout move, but we were disappointed with our defence, conceding that turnover try when we were on attack. So we found ourselves 24 points down before we had even managed to get going. That was probably the biggest thing for us.

“But I was really proud of the way the boys found field position, we took a couple of opportunities through our driving lineout, getting themselves back into the game, at half-time it was anyone’s game and that was really pleasing.”

Their set-piece also functioned well and Wiehahn Herbst, who plays at tighthead prop and was shifted to loosehead, was a pleasant surprise.

“I thought Wiehahn has gone pretty well, our scrum was consistent, our lineout functioned really well, we had ball and we got more width to our game which we had worked hard on in the week leading up to the game.

“But the frustrating thing for us has been all the injuries, not being able to play regular combinations has made life more difficult for our attack. That injury list just keeps growing with Cobus Reinach and Paul Jordaan both out, two of our faster attacking backs back home.

There had been lots of talk about not scoring tries, so he was thrilled with four.

“The Chiefs boast good defence, so for us to get a bonus point for scoring four tries was great. But we’ve been pretty frustrated with the lack of continuity in combinations, that hasn’t helped. I don’t like offering excuses, but the number of injuries we’ve got is ridiculous, it’s making life hard.”