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Sharks confirm Eben Etzebeth surgery

Eben Etzebeth back with the Sharks in Durban

Sharks head coach John Plumtree has opened up on his frustration with injuries in his camp as they prepare to face the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship clash in Durban.

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The Sharks are currently sitting at the bottom of the URC standings with just one win from their nine games after battling to find consistency all season.

Plumtree’s side has suffered some big injury blows to top players and on Tuesday he revealed that Eben Etzebeth will spend some extra time away from the game after having a knee operation.

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Etzebeth’s last outing for the Sharks was off the bench against Oyonnax in the Challenge Cup on January 13.

“We know that we got a really strong pack, but I haven’t been able to put that pack on the park,” Plumtree told reporters.

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“We got injuries to key players and that has probably been the biggest frustration for me.

“We probably had six operations to tight-five players. It’s been really tough to have the depth that we needed up front.”

Plumtree added: “It’s a long season and I do feel like I have been handicapped by the fact that I have had a lot of injuries.

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“We are now in February and it is Bongi’s [Mbonambi] first game coming up and he is our No.1 hooker.

“Eben Etzebeth has started playing and now he had a knee operation, so he is only getting back in a few weeks.

“It has been a bit frustrating that I haven’t been able to put out the pack that I want to.”

Besides Mbonambi, Vincent Koch is also expected to return to the playing field after a lengthy lay-off since the World Cup.

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However, when pressed to reveal which Boks will be playing against the Stormers, Plumtree said: “I’ll name the team on Friday but I will say there are Springboks rested and there are Springboks still injured.

“Lukhanyo [Am] is playing. It [rest period] is not ideal but we understand the importance of it because we have a long season of playing Northern Hemisphere rugby and Southern Hemisphere rugby, which is crazy

“So, until the South African players are playing in one hemisphere and committed to one hemisphere, there is going to be a lot of disruption.

“Hopefully, that will happen over the next couple of years.”

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H
Hellhound 58 minutes ago
South Africa player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.


Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.


Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.


They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.


Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.


Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

No where to be seen OB!


The crosses for me for the year where (from memory);


This was a really hard one to nail down as the first sign of a problem, now that I've asked myself to think about it. I'd say it all started with his decision to not back form and fit players after all the injuries, and/or him picking players for the future, rather ones that could play right now.


First he doesn't replace Perofeta straight away (goes on for months in the team) after injury against England, second he falls back to Beauden Barrett to cover at fullback against Fiji, then he drops Narawa the obvious choice to have started, then he brings in Jordan too soon. That Barret selection (and to a lesser extent Bell's) set the tone for the year.


Then he didn't get the side up for Argentina. They were blown away and didn't look like they expected a fight and were well beaten despite the scoreline in my opinion. Worst performance of the year in the forth game and..


Basically the same problems were persistent, or even exaggerated, after that with the players he did select not given much of an opportunity, with this year having the most number of unused subs I can remember since the amateur days.


What I think I started to realise early on was that he didn't back himself and his team. I think he prepared the players well, don't get me wrong, but I'll credit him with making a conscious choice in tempering his ambition and instead choosing cohesion and to respect (the idea of it being important in himself and his players) experience first and foremost (after two tight games and that 4th game loss). I think he chose wrong in deciding not to be, and back, himself. Hard criticism.


And it played out by preferring Beauden to Dmac on the EOYT (though that may have been a planned move).


I hope I'm right, because going through all the little things of the season and coming up with these bullets, I've got to wonder when I say his last fault is one we have seen at the Crusaders, playing his best players into the ground. What I'm really scared of now is that not wanting a bit of freshness in this last game could be linked with all these other crosses that I want to put down to simple confidence issues. But are they really a sign that he just lacks vision?


Now, that's not to say I haven't seen a lot of positives as well, I just think that for the ABs to go where they want to go he has to fix these crosses. Just have difficult that will be is the question.

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