'They are a very unpredictable side'

SPOTLIGHT: The Lions might be sitting at the bottom of the Currie Cup standings, but they are still a team the Sharks will not take lightly in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Lions kicked off their campaign with a 36-48 defeat to Western Province in Cape Town before going down 9-50 to the Pumas at Ellis Park.

The Sharks on the other hand started with hard-fought 24-23 over Griquas before seeing off WP 35-20.

"You can always expect an exciting game against the Lions," said Sharks loose forward James Venter, who was a Lions player before he made the move to Durban.

"They are a side that always want to play a good brand rugby, which is something that the Sharks are also trying to promote."

He added: "They are a very strong side with a lot of talented individuals.

"They are a very unpredictable side, so for us, we just need to focus on controlling the game and as long as we execute our plan we will be more than fine on the day."

Venter said there is extra motivation for the players to do well in the Currie Cup with the United Rugby Championship running concurrently.

"The URC is a very exciting tournament. All the guys in the squad want to be involved in the URC," said Venter.

"Our job at the moment is to play our best rugby. Every single player in the squad wants to display their talents and as a team, we are going to do that.

"I think the fact that they [Currie Cup and URC] are running together is amazing because the guys that missing out on URC selections are still being able to get game time and grow themselves as players.

"It's an awesome vibe around the stadium with two teams having good performances on weekends, so it's really good."

@rugby365com