Sharks face ‘must-win’ in Kimberley for Currie Cup home semi

The Sharks are a competent side and their heavy defeat against Western Province two weeks ago doesn’t make them a bad unit overnight.

The Sharks (21 points) are still second on the log behind the unbeaten Western Province (25) and a win against the Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday will ensure they host a home semifinal.

The Sharks will know who they’ll face in the semis after the Pumas/Lions clash in Mbombela on Friday but Sharks tighthead prop Thomas du Toit said their Griquas date is an important one.

The Sharks are assured of a playoff spot but their loss against Western Province was a timely reminder in regards with dropping their guard.

“The Western Province defeat was a very good wake-up call for us because I feel we’ve become tighter as a team‚” Du Toit said.

“The feel in the camp is definitely better than it was in the previous weeks just because of the defeat. We realised a few errors that we made and the problems we need to solve.

“This game is important as any other game because it’s a must-win for us but they’ve got nothing to lose and we’ve got a lot to gain as well. It is a must-win and a very important game for us.”

Sharks winger Lwazi Mvovo has experience every up and down with the Sharks in his long career with the Durban-based union.

Mvovo wasn’t part of last year’s side that dominated the group stages‚ only for them to fall in the final but is armed with the knowledge of knowing what to do when it comes to the business end of the season.

It was Western Province who not only beat them in their last round-robin game‚ but also upstaged them in the final that the Sharks hosted two weeks later.

Mvovo said the Western Province loss came at a good time for them and reminded them of the work they still need to put in.

“I think the loss in Cape Town was a blessing in disguise. We kind of thought that everything was fine and perfect and Cape Town showed us that things weren’t like that.

“We’ve fixed that because in this competition we’ve learnt that we can’t give away possession. We had a lot of offloads that normally stick but didn’t in Cape Town‚” Mvovo said.