Siya Kolisi suffers unusual injury
· The South African
This past weekend, Siya Kolisi was set to earn his 50th cap for the Sharks, but ultimately the Springbok captain had to be withdrawn from the team that went on to secure a big win over Munster.
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It has since been confirmed that the flanker has suffered a calf injury that is causing him some issues, and which will see him this Friday’s clash against Cardiff.
What makes it tricky is the fact that the exact extent of the injury is still not clear, with Sharks coach JP Pietersen admitting that there are good days and then bad days.
“He’s got a calf problem. He won’t be ready for next week, but we’ll see how it goes week by week. He feels good, but then some days he doesn’t feel so good. I don’t know what kind of calf injury it is, but we’ll look at it week by week and see how it goes.”
Sharks will hope to have Siya Kolisi back for key part of the season
The Sharks head into an important clash against Cardiff this weekend as the team look to continue their march towards a Top 8 finish in the URC, while they will hope to also go far as possible in the Challenge Cup.
With this in mind, the medical staff will be working tirelessly behind the scenes to get Kolisi back up and running, while the Sharks will also soon be boosted by the return of Eben Etzebeth as he will come to the end of his lengthy ban after this Friday.
In the URC, the Sharks are 11th on the log with five rounds of the group stage remaining, and they will be looking to build on the momentum from last weekend’s impressive win over Munster.
“We know it’s going to be a pressure game (against Cardiff),” Pietersen commented. “There’s going to be a kicking battle and there’s going to be pressure, so we’ll need to keep our discipline.
“And because of the kicking game, it’s going to come down to the set piece because we know there are going to be knock ons, which means scrums. So we’ve got to be good at the set-piece too.”
Latest team selection
Sharks – 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Ethan Hooker, 12 André Esterhuizen (c), 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Bradley Davids, 8 Nick Hatton, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Phatu Ganyane.
Substitutes: 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Corné Rahl, 20 Jannes Potgieter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse/Ross Braude, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Le Roux Malan.