Tera Mtembu believes ball retention will be key for the Sharks to overcome the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, writes CRAIG LEWIS in Durban.

It’s been an intensive week of training for the Sharks, who are only too aware that they are set to face a massive defensive test against the Lions on Saturday.

Understandably, the Lions have continued to embrace a high-tempo, ball-in-hand brand of rugby, with players such as Elton Jantjies and Rohan Janse van Rensburg encouraged to attack space, while versatile loose forwards such as Warren Whiteley and Jaco Kriel add to their free-flowing game.

It’s not a style of rugby without its risks, but it’s reaped great rewards for the Lions over the past couple of seasons, and provided the impetus for their charge to the Super Rugby final in 2016.

The Lions have particularly tended to come into their own when playing at their Ellis Park fortress, where they have not lost a Super Rugby clash since last April.

Heading to Ellis Park is a formidable prospect that now faces the Sharks, but they will have gained great confidence from their success in overcoming a similarly attack-minded Cheetahs side on their home turf in Bloemfontein last weekend.

Mtembu said they knew what they were set to come up against the Lions.

‘The Lions are a really good team, who love to play with ball in hand, and they’ve scored a lot of tries playing that way. Last year, they were the best team [in South Africa] by a country mile, but you can’t score without the ball. So we need to ensure that we protect possession, hang on to the ball, and tighten up on system errors that will allow them to feed off any of our mistakes. So really, we have just been focusing on our game and what we need to do this weekend.’

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Interestingly, Mtembu will shift to openside flank for this encounter, with the Sharks’ pack set to be bolstered with the added physicality of big Dan du Preez, who returns to start at No 8.

The Sharks skipper said he felt Du Preez would add a different dimension to the game.

‘It’s great to have Dan back, it’s been a long road back from injury for him, but he’s come out firing and looked really good. When playing derbies such as this one against the Lions, it’s often all about physical dominance and getting that edge. We need to focus on ourselves, while retaining the belief that the Lions are a beatable team.’

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