Sharks wary of Lions claws

The Sharks believe that it will be an even sharper Lions side that they will meet in their Super Rugby opener at Ellis Park on Saturday, despite suggestions from some quarters that last year’s finalists are not going to be the same force again due to some high-profile departures.

The Sharks lost in two epic games against the Lions, one of them a quarterfinal, towards the end of last year’s competition and they are expecting no drop in the intensity that marked those clashes when they meet on Saturday.

“I don’t think the Lions will be any different, in fact I think they’ll be even sharper and will be building on the success of their attacking play. They will also be using the fact that they’ve played in the last two finals as motivation, they’ll be wanting to make it third time lucky,” flank Philip van der Walt (above) said.

It will obviously be a big ask for the Sharks to win at Ellis Park for the first time since 2014, with the Lions having won their last six encounters in Johannesburg and Durban, but it is not beyond the realms of possibility with the KwaZulu-Natalians set to bring a hard-hitting pack and physical backline players like Robert du Preez jnr, Andre Esterhuizen, Sbu Nkosi, Kobus van Wyk and Makazole Mapimpi, who all weigh more than 90kg.

“It’s nice that we have so many young players putting up their hands, it’s not just Springboks and regulars, the young players are really pushing those guys too, and it’s very good for the team dynamic. It’s probably even more exciting to start Super Rugby again this year because we have the opportunity to improve.”