Ryan Kankowski and Tonderai Chavhanga at Sharks training session

There was something incongruous about the sight of Ryan Kankowski at his first Sharks training session of the year yesterday. Maybe it was because he was in the bright orange colours of Amanzimtoti Rugby Club, or maybe because we are just not used to seeing him at Kings Park so early in the year.

Usually, he returns from Japanese club rugby a few rounds into Super Rugby but the 28-year-old has called time on his career in the Orient and returned home on Monday. And there he was sweltering away in yesterday’s afternoon heat, trying like every other player to win the approval of coach Jake White ahead of Friday’s warm-up against the Lions in Johannesburg (not televised), and indeed for the following week’s big Super Rugby kick-off against the Bulls in Durban.

The Sharks players were colourfully attired in the varying strips of the clubs to which they are affiliated as part of White’s commendable drive to strengthen the connection between the Sharks and the clubs. To make his point, it was “club day” at yesterday’s session and the use of club kit was to remind them of White’s desire for them to turn out for their clubs if and when their Sharks’ commitments allow it.

No 8 Kankowski was first capped as a Springbok when White was coaching the national team but has seen his international profile dim in recent years and he hit rock bottom last year when then Sharks coach John Plumtree dropped him from the Super Rugby squad, citing perceived issues of form and fitness following his return from Japan.

Plumtree said his views on the player’s talent had not changed but felt that he was significantly off his best and challenged him to fight his way back to his optimum.

Well Plumtree is now the forwards coach of Ireland and White has taken his place at the Sharks, giving Kankowski a new platform to re-launch his career.

White said: “Ryan is a Springbok, he’s got something special about him. He’s really quick and has a bit of X-factor. He’s very important in terms of the way we want to play. I know he’s come back a bit later than I would have liked (missing pre-season fitness training) , but at least he’s here for the first week of the competition, which bodes well for the future.”

Another former Springbok conspicuous by his presence was Tonderai Chavhanga, the Zimbabwean-born wing that scored a Springbok record-breaking six tries against Uruguay in East London in 2005. It was his first of four Tests on the right wing but after last playing for the Boks against Wales in 2008, he has been overseas. He has returned from club rugby in Wales at the age of 30 and nursing a knee injury, and while he does not have a contract with the Sharks, that could change if he recovers fitness and form.

“Tonderai holds the world record for scoring six tries on Test debut, it doesn’t matter who it was against, he still did it,” White said. “He can play 13, wing and fullback. So there’s an opportunity for him to add value for us when we have teams playing in Vodacom Cup and Super Rugby. He’s been here since October, he’s being doing injury rehab and working really hard. He’s getting absolutely no financial gain, no salary or benefits, all the risk is his. Once he’s back on the field and playing again, then we can look at his long-term future. But he’s really been a great inspiration and role-model to the younger guys showing how much he wants to play again.”

by Mike Greenaway