A 28-man party with gaps at the top
The Sharks have named 28 players for their European tour, and the headline is who is not on the first flight. Six Springboks will join the group a week late and miss the opening match in France: Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, Thomas du Toit, Andre Esterhuizen, Ethan Hooker and Edwill van der Merwe.
The squad itself is built around 17 forwards and 11 backs. Vincent Koch, Manu Tshituka, Jaden Hendrikse and Jordan Hendrikse are among those travelling. It is a youthful-looking party for a trip that starts with a knockout-style test of depth.
The Sharks open the three-week tour in the EPCR Challenge Cup against Top 14 side Lou. Two United Rugby Championship games follow, against Cardiff and Munster. Etzebeth was the only one of the six initially flagged as an injury concern, with the club citing a lower-limb issue. The Sharks reportedly expect the lock to be fit soon.
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Six more stay home with knocks
The Springboks arriving late are a scheduling matter. Another six players are staying in South Africa because of injury: Fez Mbatha, Hendre Stassen, Makazole Mapimpi, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vusi Moyo and Yaw Penxe. Mapimpi’s absence thins the back three, and Stassen’s removes a forward option before a single ball is kicked.
That leaves the coaches with a delicate job. They have to get a depleted squad through the Lou game in France, then bring the returning internationals back into a side that has already found some rhythm. The Challenge Cup opener is the match that will test it most, because it is the one the big names will watch from afar.
For the Sharks, the tour is long and the margin for error is small. Three matches in three weeks across two competitions will show quickly how much squad depth the club really has.
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