Sharks to carry momentum to Loftus

The Sharks made it three wins from three when they beat the Stormers 18-13 at Newlands on Saturday. They also picked up wins against the Southern Kings and Argentina's Jaguares in the first two rounds.

However, it was their performance in Cape Town last weekend against a strong Stormers' pack which garnered the most attention, particularly in the scrums.     

"We worked hard on that [scrums]," said Sharks loose forward Philip van der Walt.

"We knew the Stormers are good in the set piece, especially scrums.

"All credit to our tight five, but as a back row we felt we had to contribute a lot in the scrums and I think we have done that.

"If your opponents got a good scrum, that is what you are going to focus on and the most important thing for us now is to carry it over to the next game."

Van der Walt believes the Bulls will be just as just as good up front.

"I don't think there will be any difference. I definitely feel they are capable. They are coming off a good win and a good rest so they are definitely going to come out firing. 

"I know the Bulls always pride themselves with their big forward pack players and especially with drives and scrums. We are not going to expect anything else than a big clash," he added.

Meanwhile, Van der Walt said he is enjoying the competition amongst his loose forward teammates.

"It is a lovely thing to have in a team, especially out of a coaching point of view. 

"As players you are always a bit nervous because you always want to play. I think we are fortunate to have a lot of good loosies and the nice thing is that we actually get along well. 

"We are pushing each other and working towards a similar goal, which is to make the team better," said Van der Walt.

By Warren Fortune

@rugby365com