Curwin Bosch will not travel with the Sharks for their Vodacom Super Rugby opener against the Sunwolves after suffering a shoulder injury last weekend.

Sharks coach Robert du Preez confirmed that Bosch took a blow to the shoulder during their final pre-season friendly against the Vodacom Bulls, which will rule him out of the trip to Singapore.

Instead, Robert du Preez Jr will start at flyhalf, despite coming back late from his stint with the Sale Sharks in England.

‘Curwin got a big shot on his shoulder, so he is out of the tour,’ Du Preez said on Tuesday. ‘We were just managing Rob. You know he is coming back from playing overseas.

‘We were going to start with Curwin in Singapore, but he got injured. He won’t be travelling, so Rob will start for us.’

Du Preez added that the Sharks may be forced into taking a more conservative route to win against the Sunwolves, as the humidity could make handling the ball quite tricky.

‘The conditions are going to be difficult because it is humid like it is here in Durban,’ Du Preez said. ‘It is always difficult to play rugby [in those conditions]. We are just going to have to do the basics really well.

‘Our set piece is going to have to function well and our breakdown work is extremely important. We going to have to be really physical. For us, it is going there to win and bringing the points back.’

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