New head of recruitment and retention Ruan Jacobs has revealed his strategy for the Sharks.
The former Affies director of rugby recently replaced former England fullback Michael Horak in a key role overseeing player contracting, recruitment and talent identification across the Sharks’ professional and pathway structures.
While attracting top players from outside KwaZulu-Natal remains important, Jacobs says retaining homegrown talent will be his primary focus.
“I want the best talent to go to the Sharks, but I also want to keep the local guys there,” he told Rugby365.
“If you look at guys like Phepsi Buthelezi, Phatu Ganyane, and the Hendrikse brothers, they have been in the Sharks systems since U16.
“I’m going to lean heavily on that formula.”
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Jacobs, who has built a reputation as one of the country’s top talent spotters through his work in schools rugby, Craven Week and SA Rugby’s Elite Player Development programme, believes the Sharks are well placed to benefit from a strong crop of emerging players.
“If you look at the Craven Week team this year, the talent is very rich,” he said. “Our goal will be to keep as much as we can and then fill other positions with players from the outside.”
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The 37-year-old also stressed that future signings would need to fit the Sharks’ playing identity.
“We have a specific game model that we want to recruit towards,” he explained. “There are specific metrics in each position, so we will be strict on that.”
