Patrick Lambie

The Cell C Sharks will return to Vodacom Super Rugby action this coming weekend one position lower on the log than they were when they went into the June break, but there is plenty of reason for them to be optimistic about their chances of going all the way to the title.

While the Sharks were out on their feet when the June international window arrived, as evidenced by their lame performance in the narrow home loss to the DHL Stormers, the break may have come at just the right time for them. During the off period they have welcomed Patrick Lambie and Anton Bresler back to training, while Jean Deysel is now over his suspension that was incurred for the stomping incident that saw him being sent off against the Crusaders in Christchurch.

Willem Alberts, one of the players who was looking tired before the break, had the week off from international duty last weekend because of the concussion that forced him off the field in the second test against Wales. He should be relatively refreshed when he does return, be it this week against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein or next week against the Stormers in Cape Town.

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The point though is that with Deysel back in the mix, Jake White doesn’t have to start with him just yet, and that is a good position for the Sharks’ director of rugby. Beast Mtawarira should also be available soon after missing the Port Elizabeth test against Scotland, but in the meantime there isn’t much wrong with the back-up loosehead, Dale Chadwick.

And while the Frans Steyn affair that saw the gifted utility back put a halt to his Springbok career, at least for now, was not good for South African rugby, it was great for the Sharks. Steyn was the player who most needed a break, and now he has had three weeks off to get himself refreshed and take some pressure off the knee injury that was requiring careful management.

While the players not involved with the Boks were able to put their feet up for a bit at the start of the international window, White also found a way to ensure that they don’t arrive at this important juncture of the season cold. The decision to make the players available for two rounds of club rugby was warmly received by rugby people in Durban, and of course it could have a positive spin-off for the Sharks themselves if it means those players are sharper than they might have been had they not played any rugby during June.

There should be concerns over the Du Plessis brothers, Bismarck and Jannie, who played all the June internationals, but otherwise it appears to be looking up for the Sharks as they contemplate a potentially tricky finish to the league season with away trips to Bloemfontein and Cape Town, two matches they need to win if they want to finish in the top two and thus ensure they progress straight to a home semifinal rather than have to play in the first round of the Finals Series.

“We lost the last game before the break so maybe it was good to have a break, some of our players clearly required a rest,” said White.

“We also now get back some of our best players from injury, so we are not too worried. We get Pat Lambie back soon, Anton (Bresler) as well, so there are a lot of positives to the break as well.”

The Waratahs displaced the Sharks as log leaders with their big win over the Brumbies this past weekend, which was when the New Zealand and Australian sides made up the shortfall that occurred by them arriving in the competition this year a week later than the South African sides. With all the top teams now having played the same number of games, the Waratahs are three points clear of the Sharks, who are three ahead of the Kiwi teams tied in third place, the Crusaders and Highlanders.

The Sharks will want a home final so they will be hoping that the Waratahs get knocked over by either the Highlanders this coming Sunday or by the Reds in their final league match, but they also have to keep an eye on the Crusaders and Highlanders, who could push past them and relegate them to third if the Sharks trip up against either the Cheetahs or the Stormers.

“I’ve spoken a lot about us holding our destiny in our own hands and that’s exactly true now as it ever was,” said White.

“We have two more games and if we win both of them, we’ll finish in the top two. And if the Highlanders get a win over the Waratahs, or the Reds do the same, we can still finish top. And yes, there is always a lot of talk about finishing top of the log, but you still want to win the competition, so there is enough there for us to know that we can win the competition if we work hard.”

In additional Sharks news and speculation, the question of Pat Lambie’s return after injury is being debated, with the question raised whether he will be back in the starting lineup this weekend already.

What we do know is that he will almost certainly be back in the Cell C Sharks No 10 jersey when the Vodacom Super Rugby knock-outs arrive at the end of this month, but it is not yet clear whether he will be able to return for Saturday’s penultimate league fixture against the Toyota Cheetahs.

Lambie has been joined by lock Anton Bresler among the players who were out with long term injuries who have returned to training with the Sharks during the June international window.

Bresler has missed most of the season after sustaining a shoulder injury in the early part of the year, but was back playing club rugby last weekend and is ready for selection.

His return will please coach/director of rugby Jake White, who has had to rely on a new look second row for most of the season due to the double injury blow to Bresler and up-and-coming Springbok Pieter-Steph du Toit.

As it has turned out, the locks who have played in the absence of the first choices have acquitted themselves well, with Stefan Lewies earning a deserved Bok cap against Scotland last weekend.

The increase in second row depth should hold the Sharks in good stead going forward, though White could face a tricky selection dilemma ahead of the Bloemfontein trip. It is likely that Bresler will play off the bench against the Cheetahs.

So might Lambie, although by all accounts that is touch and go at present, with a decision pending on the star flyhalf, who has been out for three months after tearing a bicep in the Pretoria derby against the Sharks in late March.

“Pat still has to undergo tests to confirm when he will be available to play,” said White.

The big positive about a Lambie return will be that it will enable Frans Steyn to move from flyhalf back to inside centre.

That may well happen for the Bloemfontein trip regardless of whether Lambie is declared fit to play or not as Fred Zeilinga is also over his injury problems and proved his fitness by playing club rugby during the June window. He is likely to start at flyhalf in Bloemfontein.