Durban - Former Western Province centre Tim Whitehead says he joined the Sharks largely due to his desire to join a union "that's doing well and playing good rugby."

Whitehead told Sharks website editor, Michael Marnewick, that his 2011 season at Western Province and the Stormers was a bittersweet one and admits it was more frustration than elation.

“During the Vodacom Cup tournament, it was crunch time for the Varsity Cup and the guys asked me if I was interested in playing. Not having won the tournament before, I was quite keen to get a title under my belt, so I gave it a crack and we did pretty well, winning.

“Then I continued with Vodacom Cup and that’s when I got a bit frustrated because I wasn’t getting any chances at Super Rugby level which is obviously the important rugby competition to play. I had a pretty good first half of the Currie Cup before getting a bit of a niggle in my knee and then when the Boks came back, pretty much most of the Province backline sat out the rest of the tournament.

"You can’t have any niggles at all or you get shunted around a bit and from a decision-making point of view, it’s been a good one because it’s reinforced my decision to move to the Sharks.”

Whitehead also said his decision to move to Durban was based on a number of factors, but his desire to play for a successful team with an expansive playing style made the decision easier.

"I quite enjoy the style of rugby the Sharks play, keeping the ball alive and running it from all over the place when there is the opportunity, offloading in the tackle, backing your decision to have a crack when the option is there - I’m a big fan of that.

“That was pretty much the main thing that influenced my decision to come. They are a winning team, Durban’s great and it’s a place I haven’t visited much aside from the odd game, so not having experienced it much at all, there are a lot of new things to see and do. I love the beach and the coast so the Sharks was really the only other union I was interested in, in South Africa.”