Jimmy Stonehouse to flex his muscles at the Sharks as URC season approaches

South African rugby legend Jimmy Stonehouse, the Pumas coach with biceps the size of rugby balls, is an interesting addition to the Sharks set-up for the forthcoming United Rugby Championship, although his role will be an informal one.

It makes sense for the bigger unions to bring in rugby acumen from the smaller unions because the latter shut down for the year following the end of the Currie Cup.

And making even more sense is that the better players from the likes of the Pumas, Griquas, and Cheetahs are increasingly being loaned to the Sharks, Lions, Stormers, and Bulls. Why have valuable resources lying redundant until the start of the SA Cup next year?

Sharks coach John Plumtree said of powerlifting champion Stonehouse, “Jimmy is a thorough rugby man and a bit old school like me. We’re looking to bring him in to watch over us as a group. He will have a set of eyes over our team, and we can utilise his experience.

“He will tour with us for a week or two,” added Plumtree.

As will Pumas scrumhalf Ross Braude, the former Grey College man who returned to South Africa after playing in Canada for the Toronto Arrows, and the national team.

Plumtree says his squad is “a bit thin” at the moment because of a raft of pre-season injuries, not to mention the old chestnut of having ten Springboks busy with the Rugby Championship.

The Sharks kick off their URC campaign with a tough ask against Glasgow at Scotstoun on Friday next week (September 26), followed by a visit to the Dragons and a tough finale against Leinster in Dublin.

“Our squad is a bit thinner, but fortunately we have some talent coming through from the Currie Cup,” Plumtree said.

“It has been good not being involved in the (Currie Cup) playoffs (semi-finals and final) because we have been able to get our ducks in a row for the tour.”

Plumtree says he has been impressed with his SA Under-20 players in scrumhalf Ceano Everson, flyhalf Vusi Moyo, flank Matt Romano, flank Bartho Hlekani, and wing Jaco Williams.

“There is some nice talent coming through. Jean Smith (the son of Glasgow coach Franco) is another young flyhalf looking good,” Plumtree said. “His form at the end of the Currie Cup was the best I have seen from him.”

That is a good thing because the Sharks currently have a flyhalf crisis.

“Both Jordan Hendrikse and Siya Masuku will be on the injury list for the first month or so of the URC,” Plumtree said.

“Jordan has a back injury from neuro pain that affects his legs,” the coach explained. “You might have noted that towards the end of last season and in the semi-final loss to the Bulls, he wasn’t quite right, not the same player he had been earlier in our campaign.”

Masuku has a shoulder injury. Plumtree will either look to youngsters Smith and Moyo or ask Jaden Hendrikse to stand in for his brother at 10.

Plumtree is also light on locks because of the long-term injuries suffered by Emile van Heerden and Corne Rahl. To counter that, the Sharks have signed former Stormer and Bull Marvin Orie.

He will form a formidable second row with another Springbok in Jason Jenkins, but there are not too many locks after that.

“We have JJ Scheepers (of the Pumas) helping us out at lock,” Plumtree said. “We are also bringing in Cheetahs loosehead Cam Dawson, Cebo Dlamini (the tighthead from Griquas), and Eduan Swart (the Pumas hooker).

“We are a little disjointed because we have guys coming in to help us out. They have had limited time with us, so it is a challenge for the coaches to get them up to speed.

“The nice thing is that JP Pietersen and his Currie Cup coaches used our game model. That gives us continuity.

“Also, there are established guys like the Tshituka brothers (Vincent and Manu) who have been in the system for a while now.

“In general, there is more synergy around the group now that we are into the third season since I came back to the Sharks,” Plumtree said. “The same goes for the coaching staff, where guys like Warren (Whiteley), Joey (Mongalo) have been with us for a while.”

The Sharks hit the road on Monday (September 22) and play Glasgow on the night before the Springboks versus Argentina game in Durban.

“We are happy to tour early,” Plumtree said. “We have done it for the last two years. There are some challenges in terms of picking up early points because you are away from home, but it is a good opportunity to get away as a group and spend time together.”