Sharks are circling for big Lions kill

SHARKS prop Thomas du Toit says Saturday’s Super Rugby quarterfinal against the Lions will be their most important match of the season.

The Sharks have had many key Super Rugby clashes in the past but with the team developing under coach Robert du Preez‚ their season will be gauged on what they have planned for the Lions.

The Lions didn’t have to get out of second gear to beat the Sharks at King’s Park this past Saturday.

A play-off game in Johannesburg will be a tough ask for the Sharks.

The Lions have won 14 matches on the bounce and haven’t looked like they’re going to lose a game after they sent a secondstring side to Buenos Aires.

“At this stage‚ I think it’s the most important Super Rugby match for us this season and I think the guys realise that and they’re going to perform on the weekend‚” said Du Toit.

“I take confidence out of the fact the game will be in Johannesburg, and I didn’t mind where the game was going to be played. I know it sounds clichéd but that’s how it is.

“The fact it’s a quarterfinal, I think it makes all the difference because everyone is up for the game and they know what’s at stake.” Du Toit could square up against newly capped Springbok tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer‚ who’s had a storming season in Julian Redelinghuys’s injuryenforced absence.

The Lions have had a solid scrum from which the majority of their tries have been scored.

Du Toit knows Dreyer and company pose a threat that could be match-turning‚ if not match-winning but they have a plan to deal with the Lions’ potent set-piece. “We need to have the perfect base for [our] backline to play off, and disrupt their ball as much as possible.”