An unshakeable spirit of camaraderie has resulted in the Sharks becoming a tightly knit group of players who fight extra hard for one another when the chips are down in the United Rugby Championship, says prop Vincent Koch.
After a three-week break, the Sharks’ resolve faces another stern examination when they go toe-to-toe against the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday in a clash that could decide which team reaches the URC playoffs (kickoff 2pm).
Ahead of the layoff, the Sharks registered back-to-back wins over the Stormers in Cape Town and Durban to mark a major turnaround in their season under new coach JP Pietersen.
A titanic set-piece battle is expected to unfold at Ellis Park, and Koch has warned of the dangers a powerful Lions pack will pose to the Sharks’ hopes of picking up a vital win.
“These next two games against the Lions and Bulls are massively important in terms of where we finish on the log and where we want to go for the rest of the season,” Koch said.
“We’re just playing for each other. When coach JP came in, he explained to us what the jersey meant, and to play for each other. I think we’re starting to build a nice culture at the Sharks as well. If we’re closer off the field, you’ll fight harder on the field,
“At the moment, you can clearly see the boys are fighting; we’re chasing lost causes. You can see the love for each other. You can clearly see the enjoyment and the freedom the boys are playing with, playing without fear; there’s no pressure on the players.
“I think when coach JP stepped in he took all of the pressure from us and just allowed us to play with freedom.
“Towards the end of last week, we got together again and refocused after the break. Obviously the boys had some good family time away from rugby to clear their minds; the last block of fixtures was quite a big one for us.
“When we came back, JP and the whole coaching team set everything out for us and explained what our next goals are. We’re just focused on doing things better. Against the Stormers, there were glimpses of us being really good, but also some work-ons.”
Koch says the Sharks have put the wins behind them and are now concentrating on their upcoming games against the Lions on Saturday and a showdown against the Bulls on February 28.
“We haven’t even spoken about it [the wins over the Stormers], to be honest,” he said. “Of course we look at the reality and we know where we are on the log and that our goal is to get into the top eight, so for us these two games are massively important to climb the log.
“If we can get two good outcomes in the next two weeks, then we’ll be in a better spot than we are at the moment.
“From a player’s perspective, we had quite a large block before this game. I think it was four or five games that we played and mentally the players needed a break.
“The two wins over the Stormers were unbelievable, a team effort and showed the growth of the Sharks. But then again, you need to be fresh as well. Those games were physical, they mentally drained us.
“The reality is the Lions beat us at home earlier in the season.
“I know the last three results haven’t gone their way, but they’re still confident. They’re a good franchise, they’ve got good coaches, good players, so I think the thing is they also just needed that reset, same as us, to focus on the next games.”
“They’ve got unbelievable players and you can clearly see they’re scrumming as a pack together.”
The Herald