Former Springbok coach Andre Markgraaff on Tuesday said that he believed the Sharks would be the country's best performers in this season's Super 12 rugby competition.

"The Sharks have the best team on paper, and the Stormers will also do well," said Markgraaff.

The Sharks certainly looked the part in the first 60 minutes of their warm-up match against English club Harlequins in a pre-season friendly played in London recently, running up a healthy 30 point lead before letting the British club come back into the game in the last 20 minutes.

While Markgraaff (pictured) believes the Sharks have the best chance to become SA's first Super 12 winners, he was less complimentary about their hierarchy regarding the Werner Swanepoel debacle.

Swanepoel, recovered from a long injury, is one of the country's best scrumhalves but the former Cats and Bok star finds himself in the Leopards line-up this season and out of the Super 12 picture.

Swanepoel trained with the Sharks this season but the coastal outfit could not meet the financial obligation required to wrest him away from his job at the Potchefstroom Rugby Institute - run by Markgraaff.

The Institute asked the Sharks for R50000 to compensate for their loss but last season's Super 12 finalists only put R20000 on the table. "I don't know what's going on really," said Markgraaff.

"He's back in Potchefstroom because the Sharks could not meet the financial demand. It's now up to Natal ... if they think Swanepoel is important enough they will make a plan and pay what needs to be paid.

"It's not like the money is that much, it's not even a transfer fee," he said.

Markgraaff also believes the Bulls will do better this season, after finishing bottom of the pile two years in a row.

"I think the Bulls have a favourable draw, and they will do better this time around ... they definitely will not finish last this season.

"They must have a more than 50 per cent chance to beat the Cats this weekend, and then anything is possible."

Injury concerns for all teams have taken up much of the Super 12 build-up with the Cats and Stormers particularly hard hit. But Markgraaff has no sympathy for the players, saying that rugby is now fully professional and that the players just have to adapt.

"It's the old story, part of the game, part of the business. You have to expect it and adapt to the fixture list."

The Cats have been worst hit, especially in the loose forward department with Rassie Erasmus, Andre Venter, Joe van Niekerk and Andre Vos all on the walking wounded list.

And the Cats can expect no mercy from their Super 12 nemesis, the Bulls, on Saturday. - Sapa