James Venter fills Kolisi’s huge boots at Sharks

Without a doubt, losing a player of Siya Kolisi’s calibre was a huge setback for the Sharks, but where there are exits there are opportunities, especially for some of the franchise’s loose forwards who have been in the Springbok captain’s shadow.

The two-time World Cup-winning skipper’s departure for Racing 92 in France after two years in Durban affords players a chance to step up and stake their claim.  

Kolisi’s emigration to France after his successful captaincy of the Boks’ historic run to defend their trophy there, which increased his global stature, opened the door for a new, far less internationally recognisable player to embrace the challenge of filling those big boots.

James Venter has been one of those called up to fill the gap where Kolisi operated for the past two seasons at blind-side flank in the Sharks’ battling start to the 2023-24 United Rugby Championship (URC).  

And he has been eye-catching. The 27-year-old from Port Shepstone on KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast has been flourishing in that space so far.  

The Sharks have had poor results in their URC start, losing all five matches. However, the performances of players such as Venter have been hard not to notice, and gives hope that all is not lost in Durban.

Ahead of the URC fifth round last weekend, Venter had a 100% tackle success rate in the competition, with 57 clean ones. He is ranked second in the competition with 68 successful tackles.

Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo said the player has been important as the side’s defence driver. He also credited Venter’s success to the solid displays by back row partners Phendulani “Phepsi” Buthelezi, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and new signing George Cronjé.  

 “The loose forward combination are mixing well together,” Mongalo said. “No No 6 plays well if the No  7 and  8 are not playing well around them, so the dynamics in that loose trio deserve to be praised.

“So, yes James is doing incredibly well. He is a good man, he is one of our defensive drivers.”

In the back row, the Sharks did not just lose Kolisi but also the services of another experienced flanker in Henco Venter, who left for Glasgow Warriors of Scotland.  

But that hasn’t been a particularly noticeable aspect of their battles because of the effectiveness of James Venter, Notshe and Buthelezi.