Sharks' injury woes deepen with six Springboks now ruled out of action

In recent months, a number of people have sounded the alarm over the amount of rugby the top South African-based Boks are currently playing, and if the Sharks' growing injury list is anything to go by, those concerns may be well-founded.

With Eben Etzebeth, Aphelele Fassi, and Andre Esterhuizen already on the sidelines, John Plumtree's outfit has been further depleted by the additions of tighthead prop Vincent Koch, flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse, and wing Makazole Mapimpi, the club announced on Monday.

That means that a whopping six Springboks will miss Sunday's Champions Cup game against Bordeaux-Begles and possibly the United Rugby Championship (URC) clash with Cardiff - though a few will also be returning to offset the damage.

Plumtree has named a 28-man squad for the trip to Europe that is made up of 16 forwards and 12 backs as the Sharks look to hit back from the recent loss to Toulouse.

Koch, Hendrikse and Mapimpi all failed their HIA tests after that fixture at Kings Park but, as mentioned, could join the group for the URC showdown on January 25.

"A full-strength Sharks side with the guys we currently have out would have made our game against Toulouse a bit more interesting, but I can't discredit the players we did have out there," Plumtree told the club's website.

"We have six or seven key players out at the moment and they would make a massive difference to our team."

While they are missing several Springboks, the Sharks do welcome back prop Ntuthuko Mchunu, loose forward James Venter, scrumhalf Grant Williams, centre Lukhanyo Am and wing Eduan Keyter for the trip north.

"We played a great side, you could see they're a class outfit, applying pressure not just through their defence and set-piece but continuity play and attack, some of it was outstanding," Plumtree added on the Toulouse game.

"We couldn't hold on to the ball for long enough periods in the first half and couldn't build pressure, we were a bit too loose which was disappointing for me and that's something we talked about at half-time. When we managed to hold on to the ball for longer periods in the second half, we were able to put them under pressure, particularly in the last 25 to 30 minutes.

"It was good to see us play some good rugby then, when we hung on to the ball more and were able to apply pressure."

He continued: "I'm proud of the effort they showed, everyone tried really hard and played their hearts out."

READ MORE: Sharks reveal squad for two-match European tour