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- Sharks mentor Sean Everitt didn't want to use a denied request to use Springbok props Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit on an emergency basis as a reason for their defeat to the Bulls.
- The Durbanites' request was denied by their opponents, who probably argued that every other franchise had to rest their Boks somewhere during the tournament.
- Everitt hailed the guts shown by the props who had to come in at the last minute.
While his body language suggested he was a tad annoyed, Sean Everitt insisted a last-minute refusal to use his Springbok props off the bench wasn't an excuse for missing out on a potential place in the Rainbow Cup final.
The Durbanites had hoped to topple the Bulls by requesting Ox Nche and Thomas du Toit be selected as substitutes to cope with an injury crisis in the front row despite the duo not having been given a mandatory one-week rest as members of the national squad.
However the Bulls, arguing that every other franchise had rested their Boks somewhere during the tournament, didn't budge.
As a result, the Sharks had to include Mzamo Majola and Michael Kumbirai as their replacement props even though both weren't fully fit.
"I'm not going to go into the details. It's an issue for the administrators," Everitt said after a 34-22 loss, where the Bulls eventually exploited the compromised nature of the hosts' scrum.
"I'm a rugby coach. I focus on the job I have at hand."
He did reveal that the Sharks had first approached SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus, its director of rugby, with the request.
"We did have a problem at tighthead with Wiehahn Herbst being out. He withdrew last week because of a back spasm and then had contact with someone who tested positive [for Covid-19]. We also didn't have Ruben van Heerden and Le Roux Roets due to Covid protocols," said Everitt.
"It was always going to be a difficult week for us. We even lost Henco Venter to concussion at training. Rassie left it to the CEOs to agree that we could use Ox and Thomas on the bench at late notice.
"There was an objection and they had to be withdrawn."
Once no agreement was forthcoming, the Sharks were resigned to plugging the gaps.
"We'll always look after the Springboks' needs," said Everitt.
"We respect the national cause, but we genuinely had a problem today. Anyway, we still can't use that as an excuse."
Indeed, the Sharks had more than enough opportunities in the first half to make inroads against a Bulls team that initially struggled to crank into gear, only to be undermined by their own mistakes.
As it turned out, the starting props - Khwezi Mona and Khutha Mchunu - had to play close to 80 minutes and probably did as well as they could under the circumstances.
"We got ourselves into scoring positions. We had six entries into the opposition's red zone in the first half and only converted once," said Everitt.
"We gave a few scrum penalties but the guys who stood in at the last minute still did well. Khutha had just come off a six-week injury lay-off and drove down from Bloemfontein to play 80 minutes.
"We can criticise, but that was also showed massive guts. That's something we pride ourselves on here."
