Coach says Sharks have turned corner

The Sharks have struggled for consistency all season and their clash against the Lions at King’s Park on Saturday would be the best time to find it.

The Sharks need to win their remaining three matches if they are to get into the play-offs.

While their fate may still be in their hands‚ they have been their own worst enemies this season with their excruciating inability to produce the same performance each weekend.

Sharks coach Robert du Preez is confident his charges have shrugged off their performance problems and will find form at the right time. “Throughout the season‚ there’s been a lack of consistency. We’ve played some great games and in some we’ve been mediocre, but that’s all in the past now. This is it and this is finals rugby for us.

“The fact we’ve got 14 Springboks in our match-day 23 tells you how incredibly hard the guys have worked,” he said.

Du Preez has made two changes to the side that lost to the Jaguares in Beunos Aires in May. Lwazi Mvovo makes way for Makazole Mapimpi at leftwing, while Cameron Wright swaps with Louis Schreuder at scrumhalf.

The Sharks looked like the only South African team that could beat the Lions if they are judged on how they asserted themselves against the New Zealand teams. However‚ they met early in the competition and a lot has changed since then.

The Lions muscled their way to the top of the South African conference despite losing more games (six) than they did in 2016 and 2017 (five) when they were losing finalists.

Du Preez has not bothered himself about what the opposition does. “We’re going to stick to what we’re going to do. We know the Lions’ style of play but it’s all about us and what we want to do.”