Steven Sykes' return to the Sharks has been seamless according to coach John Plumtree, as the experienced lock hasn't been away from the Shark Tank for very long.

The 27-year-old accumulated 130 caps for the Sharks before joining Leinster in the middle of 2011.

"He'll fit right back in seamlessly, he hasn't been away that long - I'm not too worried about him," Plumtree told the Sharks website. "He's in good nick conditioning–wise. He trained really hard before he came back here."
 
Sykes is an excellent addition to the Sharks second row resources, joining Alistair Hargreaves, Ross Skeate, Anton Bresler and Jan Andre Marais in the lock stocks. Abrasive loose forward Jean Deysel also tried his hand in the second row during last season's Currie Cup, and could also be deployed in the engine room of the scrum.

"I've been training really hard, my diet has been good and I think I'm probably in the best shape I have been in for a long while," Sykes explained.

Sykes revealed that one of the major factors that influenced his decision to return to South Africa was the birth of his son.

"We wanted to bring our little boy back to South Africa and the opportunity arose; then we spoke to everyone and we managed to get it right. I'm very happy to be back here again," he said.

"The conditions are different over there, it's going to be nice for my son not to have to go out wearing a snow suit all the time. He'll be able to go out and enjoy the fresh air."