JP Pietersen has structured a six-man leadership group for the Sharks' 2026/27 campaign, with Andre Esterhuizen retained as captain and four players joining him in defined leadership roles.
Esterhuizen, who skippered the side last season, will be supported by co-captains Emile van Heerden, Nick Hatton and Vincent Tshituka. Vincent Koch and Phepsi Buthelezi take on a distinct "club captain" mandate focused on off-field standards — culture, training environment and daily conduct — rather than match-day leadership.
Pietersen framed the structure as one of distributed accountability. "Every player in this squad has a leader close by, holding the same line. That means all of us — players and coaches alike — are accountable to one another. Nobody is above the standard; everybody is held to it equally."
The club's official framing draws a clear distinction between Esterhuizen's in-game role — reading play, making calls under pressure, leading by physical example — and the broader brief held by Koch and Buthelezi, whose responsibilities extend to the gym, the changeroom and the training paddock.