Bulls more than Morne: Lambie

Patrick Lambie will not be going mano-a-mano against his opposite number, Morne Steyn when the Sharks take on Bulls at King's Park this weekend. Rather the focus will be on working as a team to make sure the Sharks get their bite back.

Steyn is in fine form and Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer - along with rugby fans who believe the flyhalf is a wizard on the field - will look at this match with a keen eye.

A year ago, Steyn could do no right.

The knives were out for him. Johan Goosen was elevated to the Springbok flyhalf berth and Lambie and Elton Jantjies were placed ahead of Steyn in the hierarchy.

The fans that booed him for missing a drop goal against England in Port Elizabeth last year probably thought Steyn's career was at an end.

Now Steyn shares top point-scorer honours with the Chiefs' Gareth Anscombe. Both have racked up a tally of 163.

And when Steyn is scoring points, the Bulls are winning games.

"I think it is silly to focus on one individual," Lambie said of the impending duel with Steyn.

"It is going to take a team performance to win and I'm going to focus on doing my best to give us the best chance of winning.

"The Bulls are playing really well at the moment, getting good front-foot ball. Morne is kicking nicely, so we'll have to be at our best to stop them this week."

Lambie has been an adept flyhalf this season despite receiving mostly wayward back-foot ball, behind an inconsistent pack.

The Sharks have relied heavily on his boot for points and he has rarely disappointed.

If the flyhalves cancel each other out, what then will decide the outcome?

"If we can stop their momentum and try to stop their set-pieces, we'll be in with a shout.

"We'll have to be at our best [especially] against their driving line-out maul," Lambie said.

"One of the tactics that they use really well is the up-and-under. Their kicking game and their chasers are extremely effective, so we'll have to spend a bit of time catching some high balls [in training] this week.

"Our attack has improved. We were creating opportunities at the start of the season, we just weren't converting them into tries and that's something we've touched up on.

"We've built phases on numerous occasions and the more we do that, the more we put defences under pressure and create [scoring] opportunities."

The Sharks are under pressure to collect maximum points in all their remaining matches if they are to have any chance of making it into the play-offs. The Bulls, on the other hand, are just two points behind log-leaders, the Chiefs, with a game in hand.