Sharks head coach JP Pietersen has praised his returning Springboks stars and described his side’s fine start to their 2026/27 United Rugby Championship (URC) season as “unreal”.
This, after they clinched back-to-back bonus-point victories at home against the Ospreys and defending champions Leinster in their first two URC matches.
That means that the Durban-based outfit are sitting pretty atop the competition’s table with a full house of 10 points, one ahead of Cardiff, the Lions and Edinburgh.
Although it is still early in the season, Sharks fans will be delighted with their team’s excellent form after they finished in 10th position in the URC standings at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Springboks bolstered Sharks’ matchday squad
After clinching a 41-24 triumph against the Ospreys in their season opener, the Sharks were bolstered by the return of several Springboks and Pietersen recalled captain Andre Esterhuizen, Edwill van der Merwe and Thomas du Toit to his starting line-up while Ox Nche, Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker were among the replacements for the clash against Leinster.
Pietersen admits to having pre-match nerves about adding his Springboks contingent to his matchday squad but is delighted that his selection gamble paid off as the Sharks secured a hard-fought 26-20 win.
“I was quite nervous before the game. We only had one training session with them, on Thursday,” he told reporters after the Saturday’s triumph over Leinster.
All the Sharks’ returning Boks made valuable contributions in their triumph against Leinster with Esterhuizen and Van der Merwe scoring crucial tries which secured a bonus-point for the Sharks.
Van der Merwe and Etzebeth combined brilliantly in the build-up to Esterhuizen’s five-pointer, which Pietersen revealed he knew little about, while the former crossed the whitewash in the game’s dying moments
“They never looked off,” added the head coach. “I didn’t even know what was happening and Andre scored.
“And Edwill van der Merwe finished it off with that intercept try. It shows what they bring.
‘The Springboks do what they need to do’
“The rest of the group is all about doing the right thing, letting the system work. And the Springboks do what they need to do.”
After missing out on last season’s URC play-offs, Pietersen admitted that he is pleasantly surprised by his side’s outstanding start to their new campaign.
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“You can see I’m stuttering, I’m still processing that we won two and have 10 points. It’s unreal,” he revealed.
“Durban is special. You need to earn it to come win here. It’s humid.
“Today there were some unorthodox tries that came against the run of play. That is what Durban gives you, the Durban vibe.
“As a collective we told ourselves ‘It’s our home and we don’t want to concede points and we don’t want teams to come and get easy wins against us’.”
The Sharks face another tough task on Saturday when they take on the Stormers in Cape Town.
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