Sharks sack all the rest

There will be no emotion attached to the Sharks' final Super 15 game of the season against the Southern Kings at Kings Park this weekend, said departing co-interim coach Hugh Reece-Edwards.

Reece-Edwards confirmed yesterday that the new regime, led by CEO John Smit, will not retain the services of himself and partner Grant Bashford.

Their departures follow former head coach John Plumtree's axing last month, to make way for the new director of rugby Brendan Venter.

"I don't like the sort of [attitude] that 'we are going to play for this guy or that guy'; it generally takes away from the rugby itself and too often the best results aren't achieved at the end," said Reece-Edwards.

"There are guys who will be playing their last games for the province and coaches leaving, but at the end of the day the 80 minutes will decide whether it is a good send-off or not."

Reece-Edwards has served the Sharks for more than 30 years as a player and in various coaching and assistant coaching positions, while Bashford was promoted from coach of the Sharks Vodacom Cup side to assistant coach of the senior team in 2006.

Meanwhile, the Sharks welcomed back Springbok winger JP Pietersen from a groin injury yesterday.

He heads to Japan at the end of the Super 15 but will be back for next year's competition.

Pietersen was energetic at the morning training session, eager to get his hands on the ball as much as possible during the drills.

Meyer Bosman has also returned from a lengthy injury lay-off, giving the Sharks adequate backline replacements for the suspended Butch James and injured Pat Lambie (lower back).

"JP is one of those guys who bring a little bit of laughter to the team; he's relaxed and it's always good to have a player like him in the side. He wants to score tries, he wants to do well and hopefully he will be in top form," Reece- Edwards said.

The Kings will probably rest a few key players for the trip to Durban, with a view to conserving their main assets for the impending two-legged promotion-relegation battle against the Lions in two weeks' time.

Despite this, Reece-Edwards is expecting a challenging encounter against a team that gave the Sharks a thorough workout when the two teams clashed in Port Elizabeth in March.