Sharks sink teeth into preseason prep

The Durban outfit's squad was named this week ahead of the upcoming season and a number of exciting news signings bode well for their Super Rugby ambitions. Frenchman Clement Poitrenaud is the major talking point. The fullback has 47 international caps and has played over 300 matches for Toulouse in the French Top 14.

Coach Rob du Preez, who has officially taken the reins following Gary Gold's resignation as Director of Rugby, seemed to have a renewed enthusiasm as his side begins their preseason training. A disappointing end to the Currie Cup, having missed out of the semi-finals, left the former Springbok scrumhalf disappointed after his young side had shown such promise in the group stages of the domestic competition.

But with the Currie Cup behind them, Du Preez was upbeat about the players they have snapped up as well as the amount of youngsters that have signed to contract extensions at the Union. 

Another Frenchman in Durban

The likes of Poitrenaud will fill the void left by departed stars Willie le Roux and Paul Jordaan - and Du Preez says the Frenchman will offer a multitude benefits to the team.

"We've got a bunch of young fullbacks and to a large extent an inexperienced backline if you take Pat out of the equation," Du Preez said.

"Clement is a guy with huge experience but his first objective is to get into the side. Secondly, he will mentor the young players. We've had really good success with French players in the past and what I really like about him is that he is a guy that has spent his whole life in Toulouse, he was born and bred there, played at one club his whole life and has 47 Tests for France so he comes with massive experience.

"He's a great guy, speaks good English, he's married and settled so I think he is going to be great for us," Du Preez said. 

Stormers duo Jacques Vermeulen and Kobus van Wyk have also joined the Sharks, while 2016 SA U20 captain Jeremy Ward has boosted the stock of the Sharks midfield.

"It's very important that we've retained the players we wanted and signed them for another two or three years. The re-signings have been a big positive. The continuity that we've started in the Currie Cup and the way we want to play - we want to take that into Super Rugby," Du Preez said.

"These things do take time, there is going to be a big emphasis on skill development. We have to do that considering the way we want to play. It's going to be one of the pillars of Sharks rugby, players with a high level of skill that can execute in high-pressure situations."

Du Preez Jr.

While the rest of the Sharks squad puts in the hard preseason graft, a number of Sharks players will look to make big contributions on the Springboks end of year tour. Pat Lambie will captain the Boks for the first time in their exhibition match against the Barbarians on Saturday, while Coach du Preez' son Jean-Luc will hope to earn his first Springbok cap in the coming weeks.

Jean-Luc is likely to start against the Barbarians - but that won't count as a Springbok cap. However he will be in the running for a Bok debut against England, Italy and Wales in the following weeks - and his father says the experience will be invaluable.

"I chatted to him and he was saying how he was bombarded with information in the short training week they had because they want him to cover 6, 7 and 8. But that is good, our young players need to be put under that type of pressure. That is really good for his development from a mental point of view," the Sharks coach said.

Plenty of competition

The squad at Du Preez disposal offers plenty to work with and the players look set to be put through a grueling 7-week preseason ahead of a short Christmas break. The Sharks boss wants his side to be as fit and strong as possible - while skill development will be a massive focus as well. Du Preez was open about having specialists on board to help and the likes of former Springbok Braam van Straaten and AB Zondagh will be in charge of that department.

He also hopes the competition between for places will bring out the best in his players.

"There is going to be very good competition among the guys. There's some youngsters coming though so I think the Sharks are in a good position from a depth point-of-view, but it will take time to develop these guys into the players they need to be."

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