Vincent Koch and Phepsi Buthelezi: The Standards You Don't See

There are parts of a rugby season that supporters never see.

The tackles and tries will come. The packed stands, the big moments and the scoreboard will tell their own story. But long before the first whistle, a team begins to take shape in the quieter spaces - on the training field, in meetings, in conversations between teammates and in the standards that are demanded when nobody outside the group is watching.

For the Hollywoodbets Sharks, two of the people entrusted with driving those standards this season are co-captains Vincent Koch and Phepsi Buthelezi.

They arrive at that responsibility from different points in their careers, but with a shared understanding of what it takes to build something that lasts.

A Chance To Reset

For Buthelezi, the 2026/27 season follows a period of reset.

“Unfortunately, not making playoffs gave us an opportunity to really refresh as a squad,” he says.

That disappointment also created an opportunity: time. The Sharks came into a long pre-season with a clear plan from Head Coach JP Pietersen and his management team.

“When we came in on the first day of pre-season, we knew exactly where we were and where we wanted to go,” Buthelezi explains. “And I think it was executed brilliantly.”

Now, with the first Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against the Ospreys approaching, he says the group is feeling good and excited.

An International Standard

For Koch, this pre-season has offered something he has not experienced since arriving in Durban: continuity.

International commitments have meant that his previous seasons with the Sharks were repeatedly interrupted by Springbok duty. This time, he has been able to remain with the group from the beginning of the preparation. That changes more than the training schedule.

It gives a player with two Rugby World Cup titles behind him the opportunity to invest fully in the environment around him. And Koch is now at a different stage of his career. The focus is no longer only on what he can contribute with the ball in his hands or at scrum time. As one of the Sharks’ Club Captains, he has been entrusted with helping shape the environment itself.

For Koch and Buthelezi, that means driving standards both on and off the field.

“We want that international standard in training,” Koch says.

It is a simple phrase, but one that carries considerable weight from a player who has spent years inside elite environments.

The Standards You Don’t See

For him, those standards are not confined to matchday.

They extend to the way players train, the way they prepare, the way they hold each other accountable and the culture they create away from the field. Koch is candid about the responsibility.

“Off the field, we want to drive the culture of the Sharks,” he says. “I think it’s something that we’ve lacked over the last few years.”

That responsibility also extends to communication.

The Club Captains act as a link between the playing group and the coaching staff - a channel through which players can raise concerns, challenge ideas and have honest conversations with their coaches. It is a role that requires trust in both directions.

A New Chapter

For Koch, that trust is part of what leadership now means.

His own journey has given him a different perspective on the importance of environment. After being dropped from the Springboks, Koch says he went through a difficult period in his rugby and had to work through some things personally. Then came a conversation with Pietersen that changed his approach.

“Coach JP actually just changed my mentality towards approaching rugby and being at the Sharks,” Koch says. “He’s refreshed my mind. He gave me some energy again.”

That renewed energy is now being channelled into the Sharks. And increasingly, into the players around him.

Passing It Forward

At this stage of his career, Koch has experiences that cannot simply be taught in a training session. He has played at the highest level, experienced the demands of international rugby and been part of environments where standards are non-negotiable.

Now, he has an opportunity to pass those lessons on. Buthelezi understands that responsibility too.

Together, the pair represent two different stages of the same journey: experience being passed forward, while the next generation helps determine what comes next.

Unfinished Business

There is also unfinished business with the first opponent of the new campaign.

Koch remembers last season’s encounter with the Ospreys clearly. The Sharks toured Wales, the match featured uncontested scrums, and the team ultimately suffered a defeat that Koch believes “probably cost us a playoff spot.” That memory has not disappeared.

“We’ve got that in the back of our heads,” he says.

But the focus now is not on dwelling on the past. It is on what the Sharks can control.

“Our focus is purely on us this season,” Koch says.

Now It Becomes Visible

The Sharks have had their reset.

They have had their long pre-season. They have established their leadership structure and identified the standards they want to live by.

Now those standards have to leave the training ground. They have to become visible.

On Saturday, supporters will get their first glimpse.