Mendez to bid sad farewell to Sharks

Puma rugby powerhouse Federico Mendez will bid an emotional farewell to the Sharks after Friday night's Currie Cup Top Eight showdown against high-flying Free State at the Absa Stadium with fond memories of his adopted home.

This time around he will get the chance to say goodbye in front of what is expected to be a near-capacity crowd. After helping the Sharks lift the Currie Cup crown in 1996 with a series of storming displays that unequivocally established his credentials as the best hooker in the country, he raised expectations that he would stay around and meet the qualification requirements required to switch allegiance and take his place in the Springbok front row.

Unfortunately he was lured away by the power of the pound contract offered by top English club Bath. Mendez, who turned 30 on August 2, will complete his second stint here with a heavy heart.

"I'm very lucky and very happy to have had a second opportunity to play for Natal," the sturdy Argentinian international front-ranker said after his request to be released from a contract tieing him to the Sharks for the rest of the season was granted.

"The offer to return came because both hookers John Smit and Lukas van Biljon were injured and looked as if they'd be out for some time," he said. "But both have recovered now, which will free me to attend to my business interests in Argentina and also to prepare for the Pumas' end-of-season commitments."

Argentina host world champions Australia in Buenos Aires on November 2, before venturing to the northern hemisphere to tour Ireland and Italy, during which Mendez, who announced his arrival on the international scene as a 19-year-old when he stood up to the bullying tactics of experienced England lock Paul Ackford and poleaxed him with a right uppercut, is sure to be a central figure once more.

His influence in Natal has been immense, wherever coach Kevin Putt has deployed him in the front-row - hooker ("centre prop" as he once described the position), loosehead prop or on the tighthead side.

Putt said: "Federico has done a heck of a job for us and now that we are over our crisis I can understand why he wants to go home.

"His legacy will last long after he has gone home."

The curtainraisers on Friday feature Natal Under-19 against their Falcons counterparts (4.45pm), followed by the Wildebeest/Boland game (6.15pm).