Sharks' South African lock Eben Etzebeth (C) is tackled by Bordeaux' French flanker Antoine Miquel (L) during the European Rugby Champions Cup pool A rugby union match between Bordeaux-Begles (FRA) and Coastal Sharks (RSA) at Stade Chaban-Delmas stadium in Bordeaux on December 16, 2022. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP)
Coach John Plumtree says the Sharks’ Springboks such as Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch and Ox Nche are eager get to get a game in the United Rugby Championship ahead of their November tour.
Etzebeth and Koch spent some time in Mauritius with Springboks teammates Faf de Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe, while Nche had his own little beach break following a successful Rugby Championship campaign.
Pumtree says their Boks may need some gametime with the Sharks ahead of their matches against England, Wales and Scotland to shake off some of the holiday beers
The Sharks’ Springboks may feature in their upcoming home games against defending URC champions Glasgow Warriors and 2023 winners Munster.
“I think they need to play before they go on tour because they’ve had a couple of weeks off now,” Plumtree told repoorters from Italy, where the Sharks will take on Benetton this weekend.
.“But that’s not the most important part of it for me – the important part of it for me is they want to play.”
“I’ve already had a chat with Eben and he’s dying to get back into it. I asked him if he was off cloud 100 and he ensured he was and ready to go back to work.”
“We’re confident those boys will be wanting to get back out there in the Sharks jersey, but the challenge is how we’re going to integrate them because there’s quite a few [of them],” the Sharks boss said. “I’ll make that decision after this game.”
The Sharks are hoping to finish off their tour on a positive note against Benetton after a mixed bag thus far. They lost their first match against Connacht, before bouncing back with a narrow win over the Dragons, when they overturned a 17-point deficit to win.
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