Energised Sharks planning 'ambush' for Lions
Sharks lock Stephan Lewies, set to make his return from a lengthy injury lay-off, said the Durban-based outfit have recharged their batteries after their Round Five loss to the Crusaders.
And it is their nearest pool rivals, the Lions, who will have to avoid the planned ambush at the Kings Park Stadium on Saturday.
The 24-year-old, who was sidelined for nine months after rupturing his patella tendon last year, will be running out for his first Super Rugby match this year and is excited to return to action.
"It's great being back after being out of rugby for a year," Lewies said, adding: "I spent the last year watching the okes playing while sitting on the sideline, so it's amazing playing again.
"Saying that, I'm not expecting fireworks straight off, I'm just trying to get back into it slowly but surely and I'm trying to get back to peak performance."
The Sharks are determined to rebound from their loss to the Crusaders, with the Kiwi running in three tries to two and limit the Sharks's possession and opportunities.
However, the one-cap Bok maintains that their Round Six bye will aid them in powering through their Johannesburg-based counterparts.
"Obviously the loss wasn't ideal, as our goal was to get all five games under the belt [without defeat], but the okes had a great break and are all back full of energy," he said.
"Our goal is to win the next seven games and to get a good result out of all sevens games, so our first hurdle is this week."
Lewies is adamant that the set-piece flaws his side displayed over the past few weeks will improve over time, and is confident that the work their young forwards have put into this aspect will bear fruit.
"I think it's also about combinations and we're still finding our feet in that aspect.
"We're a lot of young, talented okes and I think the moment we click we'll be world class.
"At the moment we're trying to achieve that status and it's a work in progress and every week we'll try to improve on the previous week's performance and I think we're slowly but surely getting there."
The Lions's expansive style might put the Sharks under added pressure to get their set-pieces right and give their backs an attacking chance, but Gary Gold's charges are sticking to their defence-oriented game plan for the Durban fixture.
"We're not going to change for one team, we're sticking to our runs and we'll do what we trained for," Lewies maintained.
"We're process-driven team so we'll stick to our processes and keep on improving. We've been working hard on our attack because we feel that's an area we need to improve on."
Lewies also expressed their urge to right the wrongs of their 2015 campaign – when they finished outside the top 10 for the first time in a decade.
"The okes want to come back after last year and prove a point and show what we're worth and that we're a side that's up-and-coming and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future."
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