Sharks coach John Plumtree will be hoping for minimal disruption to his star-studded front row, after two of his Springboks were injured in the 45-30 win over Griquas at the weekend.

With the ever-improving Free State Cheetahs heading to Durban for the first of two semifinals on Saturday, the last place where the Sharks can afford to be weakened is in the front row.

The biggest worry would be Bok hooker Bismarck du Plessis, who damaged his ribs in scoring a try in the 29th minute.

Up to that stage the Sharks were very dominant in the set pieces, especially the scrums - as Bok captain John Smit looked comfortable at tighthead prop.

However, Craig Burden's appearance on the field - especially with his basics not on par - seemed to disrupt the Sharks.

And it became worse at half-time, when another Bok, loosehead prop Tendai Mtawarira, was forced off after aggravating a should problem he had been struggling with since the Tri-Nations.

Bok Jannie du Plessis came on at tighthead and Smit was forced to play at loosehead.

Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche admitted the injuries were disruptive, especially in the set pieces.

"That's the base, that is where you launch all your attacks from," Terblanche said, adding: "To get that right it helps a lot, especially in the first half we got that right.

"Unfortunately we lost Bismarck and Tendai," Terblanche said.

However, he felt that Burden did an admirable job as replacement, having scored two second-half tries.

What would not have been lost on coach John Plumtree is Burden's struggles in putting the ball into the line-outs and the scrum power that was lost when Du Plessis left the field.

The Sharks can recall a Springbok in Deon Carstens if Mtawarira is ruled out, but hooker could be a problem now that Smit has stated he wants to play prop.

He could be convinced to help his team out in the play-offs.

Terblanche satisfied with performance

The Sharks will have a more accurate assessment on their injured players on Monday, but Terblanche was happy with his team's performance in Kimberley - never an easy place to play for visiting teams.

"I'm delighted with the boys the way they played," Terblanche said of the 15-point win.

But he was also full of praise for a very spirited Griquas team.

"Hats off to the Griquas team, they played exceptionally well.

"The whole season they were a team that never went away and from our side congratulations on a very good season by Griquas," Terblanche said.

Griquas captain Jonathan Mokuena was also full of praise for his team.

"The boys, this whole season, every single match, they have put their bodies on the line," Mokuena said of a campaign that saw them finish level with the fourth-placed Cheetahs on 40 points, but losing out on the play-offs on points difference.

"We have become a really close family, it is just a pity it didn't finish the way we wanted it to," the Griquas captain said, adding that "if we can keep this squad together for two-three years, we will be a really big force in the Currie Cup."

He bemoaned the fact that they failed to get the required two points out of the game that would have seen them edge the Cheetahs into the play-offs.

"Our aim was to win the game, but scoring four tries and then not getting the extra [second bonus] point makes it really disappointing."

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