Rugby: Sharks show the way

The Sharks played the Cheetahs overnight and, even though the latter are often difficult opponents for the Super 14 leaders, the Sharks have a player who demonstrates that they have an edge in a key element of South African rugby - managing transformation successfully.

Sharks winger Luzuko Vulindlu will start again versus the Cheetahs after his man-of-the-match performance against the Hurricanes last week - impressing with his pace, strong running and tenacious defending.

The Sharks are showing the way to other South African provinces in achieving transformation goals by nurturing and then trusting talent they have developed. Transformation is the vexed issue of bringing black players through to top rugby without affecting performance and morale by promoting players for reasons other than merit.

In the Sharks base of Natal, unlike in the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape, there was no rugby culture in the townships of KwaZulu before the unification of rugby in the 1990s. There was talk of attracting Zulus to the game, but it never really happened.

However, the Sharks Academy, rugby development officers and the schools have started to dig up some real nuggets, with Vulindlu and Skholiwe Ndlovu regulars in the Sharks Super 14 squad this season - maybe the first real signs of a Zulu dawn in South African rugby.

Vulindlu ran 50m for a try after a quick throw-in against the Hurricanes and looked comfortable at Super 14 level. Normally a centre, which helps explain his defensive qualities, he has taken well to wing and will make only his second Super 14 start against the Cheetahs.

Vulindlu impressed Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus at age group level and tried to lure him to the Cape during the off-season. Erasmus is understood to have promised definite game time in the Super 14 if Vulindlu moved.

He also impressed against the Hurricanes. He is big, strong, has a good sidestep and a high work rate, and got involved heavily in the match against the Hurricanes.

His form against the Cheetahs - traditionally difficult foes for the Sharks - will be of interest, as will the Sharks' declaration that they will not be mentally stale, as they were when beaten by the Reds in round five.

For a start, the Sharks have rotated a number of players and the Cheetahs have often beaten the Sharks in other rugby competitions. They won 27-26 in their Super 14 debut in 2006 and have not been beaten easily in the two years since then.

Talismanic flanker Juan Smith was set to return to the Cheetahs ranks, which will also lift them.

Meanwhile a heartbroken Western Force were counting the cost of Friday night's last-gasp 27-26 loss to the Hurricanes, with several players in doubt for this week's Super 14 bout with the NSW Waratahs in Sydney.

Winger Nick Cummins, who scored a brace in the after-the-siren loss, is the biggest concern after injuring the same leg he broke last year. The 21-year-old, who signed a new two-year deal earlier in the week and who has been one of the emerging stars of the Force campaign, limped off in the 49th minute and will have scans on his left leg.

Fellow winger Scott Staniforth, who twisted his knee and ankle late in the game but played on, will also be assessed, along with flanker David Pocock (concussion).

Western Force coach John Mitchell said that he expected teenage sensation James O'Connor to return after missing one week with a hamstring injury, but Cameron Shepherd is likely to spend his fourth straight game stuck on the sidelines due to a lingering ankle complaint.

The Force, who were leading 27-16 with just four minutes remaining, were left to rue some crucial missed tackles in the dying minutes after a 77th-minute try to David Smith and an after-the-siren touchdown to Cory Jane snatched the win for the Hurricanes.

- AAP