“It's lekker, but there’s a lot of hard work being put [in] behind the scenes and, for us, [it] is just to keep getting better at small things.
“The mood is good, but the mood can only be good if you are putting in the hard work.”
The clash promises to be an exciting one as the fifth-placed Lions are fighting to get into the top four which guarantees a spot in the semifinals.
The Sharks are eager to remain at the summit to host their semifinal and final, should they reach it, in Durban.
The Lions head to the East Coast on the back of their 32-12 victory over Province.
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Sharks chase perfection before Currie Cup knockouts
Image: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Sharks have put in a lot of hard work to climb to the Currie Cup summit, but young hooker Fez Mbatha insists their game is far from perfect.
Mbatha and his teammates lead the domestic competition's standings with 43 points with two matches left to play in the round-robin format.
The Sharks are two points ahead of second-placed Cheetahs and their last two matches — against the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday (7.05pm) and Western Province a week later — will be key in the battle to finish top of the log.
The Durbanites, coached by Joey Mongalo this season, are on a six-match winning streak and Mbatha believes being able to get a few things right in their game was crucial to this resurgence.
Sharks confirm the return of 'Shrek' to Kings Park stadium
“It has been about getting the momentum and keeping the guys that understand the system to make sure we execute to the best of our abilities on Saturdays,” Mbatha said.
“We have done quite a bit of that, but there’s still a lot to improve on. Our game is far from perfect. There’s a lot of improvements we need because we are not there yet. It’s all about continuous improvements.”
The recent victories have helped improve the mood of the players who are desperate to bring silverware to Kings Park for the first time since the Currie Cup success in 2018.
“It's a nice environment to be in and we are all aligned to one goal,” Mbatha said.
“It's lekker, but there’s a lot of hard work being put [in] behind the scenes and, for us, [it] is just to keep getting better at small things.
“The mood is good, but the mood can only be good if you are putting in the hard work.”
The clash promises to be an exciting one as the fifth-placed Lions are fighting to get into the top four which guarantees a spot in the semifinals.
The Sharks are eager to remain at the summit to host their semifinal and final, should they reach it, in Durban.
The Lions head to the East Coast on the back of their 32-12 victory over Province.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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