Sean Everitt says Springbok and Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse was a victim of a “cheap shot” in the Test against Argentina.

Hendrikse made a try-scoring Test debut for the Boks in their 2021 Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Port Elizabeth three weeks ago.

He was selected to play in the second Test again the following week, but his game and subsequently his season, ended prematurely due to injury.

The 21-year-old suffered a fractured ankle in a tackle by Argentina’s Marcos Kremer in the 72nd minute.

The incident has temporarily halted Hendrikse’s fledgling international career as he was released from the Bok squad and replaced by Sharks teammate Grant Williams.

Speaking during the Sharks’ team announcement for their Currie Cup match against Western Province on Saturday, Everitt admitted he believes the late tackle which injured Hendrikse was a deliberate act.

“I think the way the injury happened to Jaden was really disappointing,” said Everitt. “Personally, I thought it was a bit of a cheap shot. Jaden was really playing some good rugby.”

But Everitt was also quick to congratulate Williams for his call-up to the national squad, saying it was just reward for all the hard work the scrumhalf has done over the past couple of months.

“At the same time, I’m really happy for Grant receiving recognition for the years and years of hard work and resilience,” he explained.

“He’s worked incredibly hard, he worked himself through the club system here and that’s incredibly rewarding for us as coaches to see something like that happen.”

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