Sharks move about more than just long walks on the beach

OLDER Sharks fans will recall with a smile the bizarre case of AJ Venter squeezing out of his contract with the Lions in 2000 to join the Sharks because they could offer sand and sea training.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

It was a dubious legal argument, but Venter became a Shark and, indeed, became a sun and surf worshipper on Durban's beaches. The blond locks proved it.

It is a different scenario for the latest Lions player to trade the City of Gold for the Golden Mile, but Edwill van der Merwe is enjoying Durban's bounty as much as Venter did.

“Life is good, my wife and I love our walks on the beach. It is a very different lifestyle from Johannesburg, and we are excited to be starting this next chapter in our lives,’ the affable Van der Merwe said.

The Springbok flyer was chased by the Sale Sharks in Manchester when his contract was drawing to a close with the Lions, but, as Sharks boss Marco Masotti says, “The only Sharks that count are in Durban”