The Sharks have continued to add to their playing personnel for next season, with former Cheetahs loose-forward Philip van der Walt confirmed as the latest signing.
Van der Walt will join the side for the upcoming Currie Cup, and while the full length of his contract wasn’t initially provided, those details of the deal are expected to be revealed this week.
The 25 year old joined French Pro D2 club Biarritz in 2014, but has now returned to South Africa, having played his senior rugby for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup and Super Rugby between 2010 and 2014.
With the Sharks set to be without Springbok loose-forwards such as Willem Alberts and Marcell Coetzee during the domestic season, Van der Walt will add to the team’s depth in this department.
After a bye last week, the Sharks are now preparing to take on the Stormers in Durban this Saturday, which will be their last clash of the Super Rugby season.
This past Saturday the Stormers confirmed that they would be crowned South African conference champions for the third time in five years, but they will also be the only SA representative in the Super Rugby play-offs this season.
A thrilling draw with the Lions on Saturday afternoon secured their spot at the top of the local standings, but the Cape side are still dependent on other results going their way in order to claim that all-important second spot in the overall standings.
The Waratahs would be expected to beat the Reds during one of the earlier games this Saturday, a result that would secure second spot for the defending champions.
So it will be interesting to see how the Stormers approach this week’s selection considering they may or may not have something to play for by the time kick-off against the Sharks arrives at 7.10pm, although the likelihood is that it will be a dead rubber.
Whatever the case may be, though, the top six teams for 2015 have been determined with one round left in the league phase of the competition, meaning the Bulls and Lions will miss out, along with the seven-time champion Crusaders.
The Hurricanes have wrapped up the New Zealand Conference and top spot on the log, but the second position and the identity of the Australian champions – it’s between the Waratahs and the Brumbies – will only be known after this weekend’s matches.
As it stands, the Chiefs, Highlanders and Brumbies all occupy wild card play-off berths.