JP Pietersen hails impact of returning Boks as Sharks slay Irish giants

There is no question that the Durban franchise has underperformed of late. They only managed a tenth-place finish in the URC last season, missed Champions Cup qualification and were knocked out in the Round of 16 of the Challenge Cup.

But now Pietersen has a reason to smile. It's very early doors, but the Sharks are top of the URC table with back-to-back bonus-point victories in front of the Durban faithful.

This week, the Sharks welcomed back several Springboks to the starting lineup. But given they were returning from Australia, they only had one training session with their franchise. Nonetheless, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, captain Andre Esterhuizen and flyer Edwill van der Merwe didn't miss a beat.

Du Toit helped demolish the Leinster scrum, Etzebeth made a key break like a centre down the middle of the park that led to a superlative try that was finished off by Esterhuizen and van der Merwe scored an intercept try that took the game away from the visitors.

"I was quite nervous before the game; we only had one training session with them on Thursday," reflected Pietersen.

"It just shows their eliteness and professionalism to learn quickly and get into the game - they never looked off.

"We needed an injection after Leinster scored; Eben was outstanding with that transition [play] try which Andre scored and then Edwill to finish it off with an intercept try; it just shows what they bring.

"For the rest of the group it's all about doing the right things to make the system work, and the Boks just do their thing that they need to do.

"For the Boks to come in and just be themselves, to not go overboard, for them to feel it's their responsibility to help the Sharks.

"The 80 percent of the group that stayed behind created this platform for the Boks to be themselves and the best version of themselves and perform. It's great to see when players want to play; I don't see them as Springboks, I see them as Sharks players.

"They indicated before the Springboks' Test against Australia that they want to come back and be part of it, and it showed today. They're elite players, and for them to get a taste of this today is something we must treasure."

Pietersen and his men now prepare for a differen beast altogther in the Stormers, who they face in Cape Town on Saturday.

READ MORE: URC: Sharks claim bonus-point victory over Leinster at Kings Park