Botha sees no easy time in Durban

SHARKS lock Ruan Botha said they are still far from the finished product‚ even though they have seen off two massive Australian threats in the Waratahs and the Brumbies.

While their opening round loss to the Reds in Brisbane was unexpected‚ it has seemingly woken up the Sharks.

They have played some reasonably good rugby even though it is always difficult to judge because of the perceived weakness of the Australian franchise.

The Southern Kings should provide the Sharks with their first three-try bonus point of the season on Saturday evening at King’s Park, but Botha is not taking the Eastern Cape side lightly.

“I do think we’re on an upward curve but we’re far from the finished product‚” said Botha.

“We’re still working on some aspects of our game.

“In the Waratahs game‚ we left a few points out on the field and we should have made the most of them.

“We come back every Monday and review our mistakes but we should get better with every weekend.

“We can’t disrespect the Kings because they’ve played some very good rugby, even though some of their results haven’t gone the way they’ve wanted them to.

“They’re still a respectable side so we’re not going to take them lightly.

“We’re just looking forward to the challenge and continuing on our upward curve.”

The Sharks are slowly polishing aspects of their game but their inability to land the knockout punch against the Waratahs on Saturday after getting a handsome first-half lead was a slight concern.

While it may not count against them when they face the weaker Australian sides‚ the South African derbies will provide a different challenge.

The Bulls‚ whom the Sharks face later in the season‚ have been terrible starters but have been lethal secondhalf competitors.

The Cheetahs have managed to put together decent first halves that have sustained them in their past two victories.

Botha is aware of the work they need to put in to become a complete 80-minute team.

“Knowing that we’re not going to take the Kings lightly‚ we need to make sure we get a good start and we can’t be missing and leaking tackles.

“That’ll give them confidence and we may find ourselves having a big battle.

“The fast starts always depend on who you play but we just want to be the better side.” — TMG