Sharks defence coach on the move again

The Sharks confirmed that Mouneimne has requested an early release from his contract – as he has done with numerous teams in recent years – to pursue an offer with French Top 14 side Stade Francais.

Mouneimne joined the Sharks in October last year, after ending a short stint as High Performance Coordinator at the Nelspruit-based Pumas.

He has a long history of changing teams.

Mouneimne joined the Southern Kings in 2012, after he had a spell with Nick Mallet's Italian national team as the defensive coach in 2010 and 2011.

Since then Mouneimne has been unsettled, bouncing around different clubs  and franchises – having left the Kings in 2013, followed Allan Solomons to Edinburgh, returned to the Kings at the end of 2014, before leaving them again to take up a coaching consulting position at Lyon and then became the High Performance Coordinator at the Pumas in 2015.

The Sharks agreed to giving Mouneimne and 'early release' from his contract.

"Omar has worked tremendously hard on our defensive structures over the past few months," Sharks Director of Rugby Gary Gold said.

"His efforts resulted in us being one of the top defensive teams in the 2016 Super Rugby competition.

"We thank him for his invaluable contribution to the team, in a short space of time, and wish him the very best for this new opportunity he has decided to pursue."

Mouneimne added: "Never in my life have I felt as accepted as I did at the Sharks.  

"This is truly a wonderful family environment and I would like to thank Gary Gold for giving me the wonderful opportunity to join this team.

"My thanks are also extended to John Smit for always having an open-door policy and assisting me, the Sharks staff for being unbelievable, but most of all I would like to thank the players for their tireless work ethic and for accepting my methods.

"This place is world-class."

* Pictures courtesy of Steve Haag Sports