New Sharks Currie Cup coach Mike Vowles.
The Sharks have a new Currie Cup head coach in Mike Vowles, but the mandate remains exactly the same as when JP Pietersen held the reins — producing a fresh raft of talent for the United Rugby Championship (URC) squad.
To call Vowles "new" is a touch inaccurate, given he assisted Pietersen in previous Currie Cup campaigns before the latter was elevated to the senior URC coaching ticket. Vowles has also been heavily embedded in the Sharks' age-group system since 2017.
The former Glenwood High School first-team coach worked alongside Sean Everitt when the Sharks Under-19s went unbeaten in 2018, and he has since steered homegrown teams to titles in both the Under-20 and Under-21 national competitions.
For South Africa’s high-flying URC franchises, the Currie Cup has unashamedly evolved into a feeder tournament. Vowles’ primary objective is to unearth rough diamonds in the junior structures whilst simultaneously resurrecting a few stalling senior careers.
