Durban — Coenie Oosthuizen is returning to Durban for a second stint at the Sharks and one wonders if he will make the same splash that he did some years ago when he joined the Shark Tank straight out of Bloemfontein.
The first thing (the younger) Oosthuizen did was buy a jet ski and give it a burn at North Beach where all 130kgs of him provided holidaymakers with much mirth for hours before he gave it up.
And in Manchester, at the Sale Sharks, he regularly made waves with his off-field antics but the one he will never live down is the day he was felled by an insect and could not play a match.
Oosthuizen, better known as Shrek to his teammates, landed himself in hot water at Sale when he chose a rather unorthodox method to treat an insect bite.
Instead of reporting to the team doctor, Oosthuizen rendered first aid to himself but only ended up complicating matters and missed a game as a result.
Sales’ director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, explained. “Props get chronic injuries to the neck and back and all those things that senior players have to manage, but Coenie could not play because of an insect, believe it or not.
“It got infected and he tried to syringe it himself. Come game day he had inflammation and infection in and around the muscle because of his self-medication. He couldn’t run.
“It’s ridiculous. The doctor’s been pulling his hair out. It’s the old-school South African mentality – I’ll fix this myself.”
What Sanderson was talking about is the old adage of “’n boer maak ‘n plan” but they don’t always get it right, of course.
Oosthuizen “Take Two” in Durban is because Thomas du Toit has left the Sharks to join Bath and Sale are happy to let the 34-year-old Oosthuizen go.
Oosthuizen made 94 appearances for Sale, including 16 this season when they progressed to their first Premiership final in 17 years.
“Since he arrived in Manchester, Coenie has been a massive part of this team and this club and everyone is going to miss him,” said Sanderson.
“On the field, he’s a fantastic player but off it, he’s been a real leader for us in what is a young squad.”
Oosthuizen made his debut for the Springboks in 2012 and has since won 30 international caps.