News24.com | Powell not fazed by Edinburgh challenge amid Sharks injury concerns

Neil Powell. (Photo Mandatory Credit Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

• The Sharks may have their focus on Saturday's United Rugby Championship clash against Edinburgh, but they also have an injury concern.
• Vincent Tshituka will be out for four to six weeks with a knee injury, which may affect the Sharks' depth in the absence of their Springboks.
• Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell also shied away from saying the Sharks' clash in the Scottish capital is a big game.

The Sharks may have their best eye on their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Edinburgh on Saturday, but they have good and bad news on the injury front.

The bad news is that loose-forward Vincent Tshituka is set to do some time outside of the game, with the director of rugby Neil Powell confirming that a knee injury will keep him out.

Tshituka's absence may impact the Sharks in the long run when they need to rest their Springboks, but the better news was the recoveries of utility back Boeta Chamberlain and Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi.

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They were never going to be candidates to play in Scotland's, but their recoveries were good news for Powell, with the Sharks battling on two key rugby fronts.

"Vincent has picked up a knee injury and I think it could keep him out of the game for four to six weeks," Powell said.

"We'll get a little bit more clarity when we get back home, but I don't think there will be any surgery needed to get him to recover.

"Boeta is also out, but he should be back in two to four weeks' time, but Bongi has also been out with an AC joint injury, but he'll recover in time because of his eight-week break that the Boks need to take."

One of those rugby fronts is the URC, where the Sharks haven't quite found the consistency that's made them a dangerous prospect in the Heineken Champions Cup.

They're ninth on the log with six wins from 10 games, but they're only a point behind Edinburgh with two games in hand.

Allied with the Sharks' patchy away form in the URC, the Sharks can ill afford to lose in Scotland, but Powell shied away from saying the game was a big one.

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Edinburgh was one of only two URC teams to win in South Africa last year and the Sharks were one of their victims.

"We've spoken about this game being a big one, but it's about us and our standards when we get onto the pitch," Powell said.

"We don't see it as a big game and the focus is on us and what we want to achieve out of the game. If we start making one game bigger than the other, we're on the wrong path.

"We're putting extra and unnecessary pressure on ourselves, so for the guys, it's about putting out the effort and the result will look after itself.

"The focus is about us and what we want to achieve out of this game."

Play starts at 19:15 SA time.

Sharks

15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (c), 7 Henco Venter, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Carlü Sadie, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Yaw Penxe