Second-chance Saloon for the Sharks this weekend

The Sharks battled through their first round clash with the Lions two weeks ago and then had a bye last week ahead of a big week of preparation this week. They will be taking on a Bulls side that have won both of their matches so far this competition.

Seasoned Sharks prop forward Thomas du Toit is excited by the prospect of having another opportunity to beat the Bulls after their loss three weeks ago.

"That's the great thing about rugby is that you get a second chance," Du Toit said. "That's how we have prepared this week mentally, working on those mistakes we made and we are very excited to go and play there again. 

"It's a massive opportunity for us but it is going to be a massive challenge as well."

Looking back on that first clash with the Bulls the Sharks were slow out of the blocks which cost them dearly as the Bulls racked up some crucial early points. It's an important area of the game that they will be hoping to rectify this weekend and have worked on hard through their two weeks of training.

"We've trained hard this week trying to make sure we start well and it's an area that we have pinpointed and we have worked hard on it."

It might seem disappointing that the Sharks had their bye so early in the competition but Du Toit doesn't see it that way.

"The bye hasn't been bad for us because we had a tough pre-season so it was good to have a break even though it wasn't a full week off but the short time off did do us well."

With two games under the belt, the first being a friendly, there is work for the Sharks to do to get back to the form that saw them sit top the Super Rugby log before Covid-19 hit.

"I think we are quite close to hitting that stride again. I think that we haven't lost much of that form that we had at the beginning of the year.

"The plan hasn't changed but I think that we might have let ourselves down a little bit in the way that we have played," Du Toit said.

The Sharks, by their high standards, might have been off the mark at the set-piece in their win over the Lions but Du Toit is confident that they can rediscover their dominance at the scrum and line-out.

"Every week is different and we just need to make sure that we are tactically matching and beating the opposition.

"We need to identify their strengths and counter that each week," he added.