Sharks to shake off the rust in France

The Durban outfit name their touring squad later today and a mix of youngsters and new faces are expected to feature in the squad. Many of them will be looking to secure their place in the Super Rugby squad and the two exhibition matches will be their chance to prove their worth.

Cell C Sharks CEO John Smit believes the fixtures will be a good measure of their progress over the off season. Whether or not the two French clubs will play their big name players remains to be seen – but Smit is confident their wider squads will still pose a challenge.

“We’ve obviously selected two of the top sides in the French Top 14. It’s a busy time for them as well so they’re going to have to squeeze us in and we’ve got a short turnaround time between the two games,” Smit said.

“What it does provide us with is an opportunity to play for the first time in three months and see how the guys have progressed and what the preseason has been able to achieve. I suspect there will be a lot of rustiness; a couple of mistakes but there are a lot of things the guys have tried to put in place on both attack and defence that I guess they’ll be testing.”

The Sharks plan to field two different sides for the two matches. That will give the coaching staff a chance to gauge the squad’s depth and readiness for the season. On the pitch, the players will look to implement the many facets of play they’ve worked on.

Furthermore a tour early in the year will do wonders for a Sharks squad that is full of newcomers.

"There are a lot of things outside of just rugby; I think it is the first time they wouldn’t have been punished week in and out for the last three months so it’s a bit of time to spend together," Smit said.

"They’ve got some really interesting travel methods planned in terms of how they’re going to get to Toulon and Toulouse, splitting into groups that don’t normally sit together and really make it as interesting as possible. Perhaps they will create some bonds and memories that will help them through some tough times in this very tough Super Rugby season,” Smit said.

The tour also falls at the beginning of the Six Nations, which means both French sides will be without their international stars. That could be a blessing in disguise, as the Sharks would have faced a real challenge if the opposition were full-strength and settled considering they are half way through the European season.

“The nice thing is that even a second string Toulon side is still going to provide a great challenge,” Smit said.

“I have a feeling we will be under threat from a set piece point of view. They’re two hardened clubs in the middle of their season so hopefully we can have parity from a set piece of view. I think what our guys want to do is take what they’ve been practicing and beaten into them for the least three months and actually see it work in a game environment.”

The Sharks face Toulon on Friday, January 5.

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