It’s a ‘clean slate’, Notshe admits, as Sharks aim to regain top form

The exotic skills of Sikhumbuzo Notshe will be up against the more physical, direct talents of Stormers star Duane Vermeulen in their SuperFan Saturday warm-up clash at Loftus Versfeld, and the Sharks eighthman is looking forward to taking on a man he considers his role-model.

Notshe, born in King Williams Town, came through the youth ranks at Western Province and spent three seasons between 2013 and 2015 playing with Vermeulen at the Stormers before the experienced Springbok left for France.

“You always want to play against the very best and I will approach Saturday as just another challenge,” Notshe said.

“But when I joined the Stormers, I learnt so much from Duane in terms of jumping and mauling, so I’m coming up against my role model. He taught me the ropes in professional rugby, so I look forward to that, but the most important thing is to worry about my team first and not my individual performance.

“We need to focus on our game plan and on ourselves. We want to play the Sharks brand of rugby, with urgency and speed.”

New Sharks coach Sean Everitt’s approach has been less ‘woes’ than predecessor Robert du Preez, and his young team has responded superbly, with Notshe being one of several talents to bloom as they soared to the top of the overall Super Rugby table with six wins in seven matches before Covid-19 ended the season.

The team culture has been outstanding, with Everitt focusing on transformation and diversity, and his squad had built tremendous momentum when their campaign was cruelly cut short in mid-March.

“Obviously it was really frustrating to have the season end when it did, but we can’t stay in the past,” Notshe said.

“It’s now a clean slate and all the other provinces have loaded up with some players. We are aware of that, so we need to live in the present. It’s a fresh start.”

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