Lions out to halt Sharks' fluency
Lions coach John Mitchell believes that if his team are to end their losing streak then they need to shut the Sharks down and halt their momentum on Saturday.
The Durban side have been in hot form in recent weeks, and have won four games on the trot, in contrast to Mitchell's bottom-placed team who have just returned from a bruising tour and are still yet to register a victory since their opening round triumph over the Cheetahs.
"The Sharks will be blunt, I guess it is up to us to deny them access into the game," Mitchell said.
"So I guess it will come down to how long we are prepared to remain in an arm wrestle and maximise what we have. If we do that then we will present ourselves with an opportunity."
The Lions coach has been impressed with the Sharks form and was full of praise for his old friend John Plumtree who looks to be leading the Sharks towards another play-off spot.
"They [The Sharks] are playing good rugby, they look like they're a side back to the sort of fluent rugby they played back in 2010. I think Plum [Sharks coach John Plumtree] has done a bloody good job with them," said Mitchell.
"They've sort of started off slowly but they've good fluency in their game and they're a very coherent team, they actually had very little change to be fair," he added.
While Mitchell had to contend with a flurry of injuries and the possibility of relegation at the end of the season hanging over his side, Plumtree has the advantage of continuity in selection and made only one change to the side that beat the top-of-the-table Stormers last week, whereas Mitchell made four changes to his team for the local derby.
"Bringing back Beast [Mtawarira] but Steven Sykes has certainly brought the necessary presence that's maybe been missing in the forward pack," said Mitchell.
"They are very aggressive and hungry because they're within a sniff of play-offs so they are a dangerous animal."
Mitchell said that the Sharks have shown the ruthless edge which has been missing from the Lions game this season.
"I think the quality of their backs is probably superior in finishing than us right now in the competition which clearly the statistics will support that," the Lions mentor said.
"They are no different to where they have been before they're just more coherent and that they look hungry and that is always a dangerous Sharks side."
Plumtree empathised with his fellow countryman and the difficulties the Lions faced in the competition.
"The Lions have had a tough season and they've had a lot of off-field distraction which hasn't helped them. They've suffered a lot of injuries and it's hard enough to do well with a fit squad in this competition," said Plumtree.
"But we're expecting them to come into this game with a lot of passion. We know that spending time on tour together builds a lot of team spirit. No-one really put them away on tour, there were no real hammerings. We have to go up there with the right amount of respect," he added.
