Barritt blow for Sharks

The Sharks might have put a half century of points past Boland on Friday night at the Absa Stadium, and run in no fewer than seven tries in their 50-23 romp, but the news of the weekend surrounds injured flyhalf Bradley Barritt.

The 21-year-old pivot has been struck down for the next three weeks with a back injury after slipping a disc while training in gym during the week.

The loss of Barritt is huge for the Sharks and something the coastal province can ill afford before they play the Blue Bulls at Loftus on Friday night, as the Absa Currie Cup winds down to the playoffs.

"Brad out is for three weeks. He has a disc problem that needs some rest," revealed Sharks coach John Plumtree.

If the prognosis is correct, then Barritt will also miss games against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and the Falcons in Durban, and will only be available for the semifinals.

With the utility back out, the Sharks' only real flyhalf option is Monty Dumond; however, if Plumtree is feeling adventurous, Adrian Jacobs could wear the number 10 jumper.

On Friday night Dumond scored a try and improved as the evening wore on, but he battled initially to get the backline going in the opening stanza and sent through some aimless kicks.

"We'll review the game and make a decision from there," said Plumtree about the vexing flyhalf conundrum.

"He (Dumond) did some good things and average things, but he hadn't played for a while."

There was some silver lining to the injury cloud with news that lock Johan Ackermann (ankle) and wing Henno Mentz (hamstring) could be fit for the Bulls clash.

Also, prop Tendai "Beast" Mtawarira, who sustained a knock on the knee and limped off in the second half of the Boland game, should be fine according to Plumtree, although he is waiting for official confirmation from the medical staff.

On the Boland game, Plumtree said: "I thought we played some pretty good rugby."