Well-travelled Springbok back Marius Joubert reckons other South Africans could end up playing Super Rugby in Australia, if Sarel Pretorius continues his successful start at the Waratahs.

Marquee player and halfback Pretorius starred in the Waratahs’ trials and opening two Super games and will play his first match of the tournament against a South African team, the Sharks, in Sydney on Sunday.

One other South African, lock Hendrik Roodt, had a brief stint with NSW a couple of seasons ago, but had little playing time.

Sharks star Joubert, who has already played rugby outside South Africa for French club Clermont, said his compatriots were watching Pretorius closely to see if he was succeeding in Australia.

“I think it could be something that players could look at in the future,” Joubert said.

“If they are not going too well in South Africa and they are not getting the opportunities, they might look at it (playing in Australia), but it’s always a difficult one.

“I think he (Pretorius) was close to being selected for the Springboks but he never got the opportunity, so he came and played in Australia.

“You’ve got the option of playing in Europe or you can come here for six months and play Super Rugby.”

Sharks coach John Plumtree was wary of a Waratahs side under pressure after losing three of their first four matches and believed they were close to turning the corner.

“We haven’t won here since 2000, so it’s been a bit of a bogey ground for us so they will know that,” Plumtree said.

“They will want to launch their campaign on the weekend and I guess they will be fairly motivated.

“Whenever you come to a place where the opposition’s backs are against the wall and they are getting criticised, it galvanises them.

“We have to be wary of what we’re facing on the weekend. It would be fairly physical, I would say.”

With extensive injuries to his front and second rows, Plumtree was anticipating NSW would launch a forward onslaught against his side.

“We’ve got two tighthead props here that are still under an injury cloud – Wiehahn Herbst and Jannie du Plessis,” Plumtree said.

“We’ll leave them as late as possible. We’re getting quite deep into our reserves.”

He said lock Steven Sykes was scheduled to arrive in Sydney on Monday evening after being given the OK after injuring a knee against the Reds last weekend.

Plumtree said French international back Frederic Michalak could play an important role from the Sharks’ bench on Saturday.