Sharks coach John Plumtree has admitted that he has a few selection headaches going into Saturday’s Absa Currie match against the Free State Cheetahs at The Absa Stadium Durban.

This Article was taken with permission from the Sharks Official web site, www.sharksrugby.co.za

Not only does he need to find a way to integrate his returning Springboks into the match 22 but he has to carefully make consideration for the welfare of the team and the players. Having spent the morning consulting with the Springboks, finding out who’s ready to play, who can play and who can’t, and with the afternoon training session ahead of him, he should have a better idea of the make-up of his team by this evening.

JP Pietersen returned from tour early with a hamstring strain and will not be considered for another week or two while Johann Muller is experiencing discomfort in the arm that has mended following a break in the opening weekend of the tournament. Beast Mtawarira is struggling with a slight Achilles problem he has been carrying so that rules out three of the 11 Springboks lost to The Sharks during the tournament.

How the other eight are re-integrated will be made known this week but certainly a handful will need a rest after the successful Vodacom Tri-Nations campaign and the return from New Zealand yesterday.

Plumtree explained that he had had “Fruitful conversations with the Springboks,” in an exercise to see who was going to be available to him. “When you know the characters like I do, it makes integration easier. I know which guys can front up and who need a break. Certain circumstances within the team mean there are specific areas that need strengthening, so the changes will be because we have to.”

The front row is one area that has been hit hard by injuries in the absence of the Boks, and certainly any team would love to have the likes of Beast, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit and Jannie du Plessis available to them, while the midfield could see a new partnership with Riaan Swanepoel looking likely to sit this game out. “Swannie’s doubtful for weekend,” confirmed The Sharks coach. “There is fortunately nothing structurally too wrong with his shoulder, just soft tissue, but it will be good to give him a rest.”

The other dilemma posed to Plumtree is who to make captain. “That’s a good question; we have Johann, but he’s struggling with his arm, there’s a screw that doesn’t seem right, he’s not overly happy since getting back, he took some contact on tour. It’s possibly something he needs to get sorted out, so he probably won’t be available this weekend.

“Stefan Terblanche is going so well, so we’d be mad not to keep him, he’s on a roll. Then we also have John Smit, we have to make a decision out of those two.

“It seems I’ve got lots of sleepless nights ahead of me!”