Sharks skipper Bismarck du Plessis was suspended for four weeks earlier this year © Getty Images

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The Sharks have taken a hard-line approach to discipline with players set to face monetary fines if they receive red cards for the remainder of Super Rugby.

The Durban-based side have already had three players sent from the field this season with skipper Bismarck du Plessis, back-rower Jean Deysel and centre Francois Steyn all eventually suspended for four, seven and five weeks respectively. That has left the Sharks without some of their most experienced players and, coupled with the injury to playmaker Patrick Lambie, has seen the side slip to fourth in the South African conference and ninth overall.

The Sharks board has moved to arrest the franchise's slide and responded to public concern by ratifying monetary fines for any player who is suspended for foul play. The 'No play, no pay' approach was given the green light at a Sharks board meeting this week, with chairman Stephen Saad saying fans had every right to be unhappy with the club's disciplinary record.

"We have decided that going forward there must be a policy of 'no pay for no play' should a player be suspended for foul play," Saad told Durban newspaper, The Mercury. "The Sharks Board agree that red cards and dirty play cannot be condoned and it is unacceptable that this behaviour be associated with the Sharks brand.

"We endorse the executive management's suggestion that the current censure (suspension from playing) is inadequate and can confirm that further sanction on the players has been taken over and above that served from SANZAR. To this end we consulted legal counsel regarding 'no play, no pay' for red cards. We feel this new censure is appropriate and will have the necessary teeth."

The decision is in stark contrast to cries from South African Rugby Union chief executive Oregan Hoskins that the nation's players were being treated harshly at the SANZAR judiciary. Hoskins unleashed an extraordinary blast earlier this week, saying he'd lost complete faith in the judiciary process.

"I'm so incensed, absolutely frustrated, and the public is outraged," Hoskins told City Press, saying South African rugby officials and fans had "massive concerns ... that our players are more harshly treated".

"I didn't intend to go to the media on this, but, frankly, I've just had enough. I feel we, as administrators, are fighting one fight and do not have the support of our judicial and refereeing panels. To be absolutely honest with you, I am at my wit's end because I am seeing how we are being torn apart on the field of play and by judicial decisions - and we are not getting the support we should be getting from these people, who are part of our organisation."

The Sharks' disciplinary woes have come as little surprise to some in the Republic with many believing Jake White's hard-line approach to training was one of the key reasons behind his sudden departure.

"White was non-negotiable in his thinking. The Sharks, in the history of Super Rugby, had never won the title. He felt it was unacceptable that the Sharks continued to fail with the squad quality, the budget available and the strength of the Sharks global brand. He felt only a change of culture would bring a change in results," Mark Keohane wrote in sarugbymag.co.za

"The players were entrenched in their ways and accustomed to a rugby lifestyle that accommodated their social lifestyle. White, with the Midas touch wherever he has coached, was not the right fit for the Sharks. They deemed him unpopular and the players flexed their muscle to force an immediate exit."