A former Springbok teammate has backed JP Pietersen to tackle the Sharks\u2019 head coach job on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n
The 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning winger took charge of the Durban-based side in an interim capacity in December following the departure of John Plumtree and is set to see out the rest of the 2025\/26 season at the helm.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the Sharks<\/a> are conducting an extensive review of the coaching structures while searching for a permanent successor to Plumtree.<\/p>\n However, ex-Springboks<\/a> centre Adrian Jacobs believes that the Durbanites already have a competent successor in charge.<\/p>\n JP Pietersen\u2019s impact at the Sharks<\/p>\n The former Shark hailed the job that Pietersen has done already, but believes that he has much more to offer going forward after early signs of change.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone knew it wasn\u2019t going to be easy for him to take over a team that had already lost six of its previous seven matches in the URC,\u201d Jacobs told Netwerk24<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI could tell from their game plan in that victory over Saracens (28-23) in the Champions Cup<\/a> in December that he didn\u2019t try to make too many big changes to the way they are playing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that game, it was very clear to me that his message to the men was to make Sharks fans proud of their team.\u201d<\/p>\n An exciting player in his playing days, Jacobs is somewhat frustrated that South African teams are employing kick-heavy tactics, including the Sharks. However, he concedes that the Durbanites do have two of the best scrum-halves in South Africa at their disposal, so those tactics play to their strengths.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cIt helps when you have two of the best scrum-halves in the country in Grant Williams and Jaden Hendrikse to launch those bombs for Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe and Makazole Mapimpi to then go and pick them out of the air.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes that Pietersen can help the Sharks buck the trend of frustrating attacking tactics and get more out of the likes of Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel we need to try to get the ball to Ethan Hooker at outside centre a little bit more by playing less direct and not asking Andre Esterhuizen to carry the ball into the midfield all the time,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, this is the plan they want to play according to now, but with time, I believe JP will start to develop it to create other threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Opinion: No better time than now to unleash \u2018special\u2019 Springboks prospect likened to Antoine Dupont<\/a><\/p>\n Ex-Springbok identifies Stormers\u2019 strength as \u2018exactly what they had\u2019 when they won URC title in 2022<\/a><\/p>\n Don\u2019t back down<\/p>\n Pietersen has risen through the ranks at the Sharks following his retirement from professional rugby and is held in high regard in Durban as a young coach.<\/p>\n Jacobs saw first hand how impactful Pietersen was in that regard, having attended an U20s match in Cape Town a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n That admiration has translated to the senior squad, according to the former Bok, who believes that the experienced players lifted their games under Pietersen\u2019s tutelage, with the underwhelming performances of the veteran Springboks in the black and white jersey being a major criticism during Plumtree\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is also someone who, as a former player, enjoys great respect within the union. In his first three games, the big thing that stood out to me was how he and his management were able to get the experienced players, who are mostly Springboks, to put their hand up,\u201d Jacobs continued.<\/p>\n Springboks great: Willie Le Roux is still an \u2018exceptional\u2019 player but fans \u2018latch onto that one thing\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe always talk in South Africa about giving opportunities to young and emerging coaches, and in my opinion, he is good enough to coach permanently at the highest level. A lack of experience may still count against him at the beginning, but he has now been given the opportunity at the union that I believe creates opportunities for young coaches like JP to come through.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to back down at all from the challenges that await him, and he has already shown that he has a plan with the team to make them competitive again.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sharks face a daunting two weeks in the Investec Champions Cup, with a trip to Salford first up to tackle Sale Sharks before returning home to host Clermont at Kings Park. That will be followed by back-to-back coastal derby fixtures against the Stormers.<\/p>\n Pietersen\u2019s charges have won one of their opening two matches in the Champions Cup and will likely need two wins to progress to the knockout stages of the competition, and are ranked 11th overall in the United Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n Jacobs believes that if he is able to reach the knockout stages of the URC, he should be appointed to the head coach role permanently.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n