New Sharks recruit Ben Tapuai has opened up about his move to the Durban franchise from Harlequins.
Tapuai played Super Rugby for the Reds and Western Force (he was part of the title-winning Reds squad in 2011) before moving to Bath in 2016.
The seven-cap Wallabies back then joined Harlequins in 2018 and played a big role in their title success last season.
In a surprising twist, the 33-year-old signed for the Sharks earlier this year and is set to play a significant part in their United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup campaigns, respectively.
As it stands, the Sharks have one of the most well-balanced squads in the country, one of the aspects Tapuai is quite excited about as it allows him to contribute to the development and growth of younger players.
“Coming here, you can see there is a lot of youth in the system in the URC and Currie Cup teams, so there is a lot of opportunity for development and when you add the established stars – I have lost count of how many Boks are in this squad – you see miles of growth ahead,” he said.
“The combinations will click in time,” he added. “And the killer instinct will come. It is no secret that we are disappointed that we drew the game last week. The positive is that we executed most of the opportunities we were given, so we are excited about that.
“We started really well but then our discipline let us down and we have spoken about how that let them into the game when we should have been putting them away.”
“Boeta has got the tricks of the trade,” Tapuai said. “Part of my job is to try and give him confidence. I am pretty vocal on the field and am trying to give him as much information as I can on the field to make his job easier.
“Playing with the Boks in this backline just makes my job so much easier,” he said. “When you have world-class players around you, you only have to focus on your job and not worry about what they are doing.
“And playing with them is going to get better. I have not been here long and am trying to get into the groove. It won’t be long before we click.”
