Sharks sidestep great White hype

The Australian media have gone over the top when they hyped up Jake White's return to Canberra, but the Sharks have quietly gone about their business.

And the Aussies have worked themselves up into such a frenzy that the top-of-the-table, Brumbies versus Sharks,  clash took a back seat to White's contentious departure from the Canberra franchise last year.

Brumbies flyhalf Matt Toomua was even quoted as having called White "the elephant in the room" and he readily admitted they spoken about their former coach's return.

While this all may have added spice to the media reports, the Sharks have turned inwards for strength and focussed solely on the job at hand.

Young midfielder Heimar Williams, who will play off the bench in Canberra on Saturday, said they are aware of the media hype, but haven't been influenced much by it.

"We have ignored it [the Australian media reports]," Williams told rugby365 in an interview from Sydney, where the team had their training base this week.

The Sharks only flew into Canberra on Thursday.

The 22-year-old, who is a product of the Sharks Academy, said like any team with title aspirations they only focussed on the game, as they simply can't allow these sideshows to affect their preparations.

"We are a very close-knit group, a family if you like, and the tour has been a good opportunity to cement that unity as a team," Williams said, adding: "Because we are so close it makes it easier to ignore the sideshows and focus on the job at hand – Saturday's game [against the Brumbies]."

Williams, who made two starts and six appearances off the bench, is on his first Super Rugby tour. One of those starts was in the Australasian tour opener against the Rebels last week – a 22-16 win in Canberra.

He felt that, despite the narrow margin, it was a "good win" – as it allowed them to build momentum.

"It was important to start on a winning note and put us in the right frame of mind," Williams told rugby365, adding that he feels "privileged" to be on his first tour abroad.

The former Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool product, where he matriculated in 2009, went to the Sharks Academy after they approached him at the St John's Eastern tournament. He also played for the SA Academy XV at the Craven Week that same year.

After a great Under-19 season he was contracted by the Sharks and the rest, as they say, is history.

By Jan de Koning