Sharks coach John Plumtree criticised the fitness of players returning from France after he was forced to put veteran centre Marius Joubert on a conditioning block to get him up to speed with his teammates.

Joubert and his centre partner Meyer Bosman again looked below the pace against the Leopards last week, especially new recruit Joubert who arrived from French club Clermont Auvergne prior to the season.

Plumtree said that Joubert was not the first player to get back from France out of shape and explained that he will have to do some extra work before he can be considered for selection in the Currie Cup again.

"One of the things that is pretty evident to us now is that players that have got back from France have been poor from a conditioning perspective," Plumtree said.

"We probably will take him out and give him a conditioning block to get his strength back up," he added.

The Sharks boss explained that the lack of conditioning does not necessarily impact on his quality as a rugby player but added that he would benefit from a focused training programme which would deal specifically with his match fitness.

Plumtree said: "We've noticed with his weight, his speed, his power and his contact that he's down on where he normally is. We've got to get him up to speed. We did a similar thing with Meyer last week, took him out for a week and he benefited a lot.

"They're good footballers, but they're just down on their strength and we need to improve that," he added.

Former Sharks player Frans Steyn is another player to get back from France carrying a bit more weight than when he left, although he is expected to be named in the Springbok World Cup squad despite his expanding girth.