Philip honoured to lead Sharks

Van der Walt joined the Sharks ahead of the Currie Cup season and has established himself as the incumbent eighthman since the start of the domestic tournament. The likeable loose forward is a relatively quiet character but has impressed with his lead-by-example attitude.

With regular skipper Marco Wentzel rested this week, coach Gary Gold has given the captain's armband to the former Cheetahs and Biaritz forward. Gold said it was toss-up between Van der Walt and Odwa Ndungane for the captaincy, but the former's proximity to the action had the final say.

“There is a leadership group that we’ve had at the Sharks that we’ve had for the whole campaign. Philip has been one of the guys in the group and the other very significant individual in that group has been Odwa as well,” Gold said.

“There was a possibility for Odwa to be captain but I think logistically with him at fullback it’s a bit difficult - he will be vice-captain this weekend.”

Another deciding factor for Gold was Van der Walt’s unfaltering effort and commitment to the side through their ups-and-downs this season.

“In these adverse times, there are certain people who put their hands up and I think Philip is one of those people and so do the rest of the coaches. As a player, I think he has led by example whether he’s had a captain’s armband on or not.”

“When he does speak, he speaks a lot of sense and the players respond to him. He’s a cool calm head in adverse times, I think it was the right decision and it was well accepted by the players,” Gold said.

Van der Walt has cut a calm and collected figure since he joined the Sharks and leading the team out is something Van der Walt is excited about.

“It’s a great honour and responsibility to captain the Sharks and I’m really looking forward to the challenge. It’s something I embrace, I like responsibility. It would really mean a lot to me if we can do well on Friday, not for myself, but for the team – I think we owe it to a lot of people.” Van der Walt said.

When asked to describe his leadership style, Van der Walt shied away from comparing himself to some of the greats of Sharks rugby.

“I’d rather say what I do best and what I can bring to the party rather than compare myself to someone else. I like to lead by example, I don’t like to talk too much because I generally feel that talk can be cheap.”

“I think the biggest thing I try get through to the guys is that I’m pretty sincere, so I wouldn’t ask them to do something that I wouldn’t expect myself to do as well. I feel if I do that and they can see the sincerity within me, I believe that is something one can follow,” Van der Walt explained.

Looking ahead to their clash with the Bulls, Van der Walt had a fairly simple recipe for success.

“I think we’ve improved a lot as a forward pack on our scrums and lineouts, especially last week against the lions. But I feel we haven’t been as consistent on attack where we might be a bit impatient. We are going to look to keep the ball, play in the right places and put them under a lot of pressure,” the captain said.

The Sharks host the Bulls at Growthpoint Kings Park on Friday night. Kick-off is at 20h00.

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(File Photo: Gallo Images)