Veteran Hollywoodbets Sharks lock Stephan Lewies has seen a lot in both his career with the Durban club and the English club Harlequins so when he says that the EPCR Challenge Cup win in Lyon last weekend was special he is someone who should be listened to.
However, while the commitment and organisation that went into the 40-33 win was a big statement from the Durban team about a team culture and plan that now seems to be moving in the right direction, the pressure never ceases and as Sharks assistant coach Warren Wheatley alluded in an online press conference on Tuesday, backing up is going to be important.
That hasn’t happened often at the Sharks in recent years, but the game against Cardiff at Arms Park on Friday night, given that it is fifth on the Vodacom URC log (Sharks) against sixth (Cardiff) is an important one in their challenge in what can be termed the bread and butter competition.
It won’t be easy because Cardiff, who finished sixth last season, have developed into a difficult team to play against, particularly on their home ground, where they only lost once last season.
However, the Sharks have been boosted by the arrival of five current Springboks, who were on leave last week but have returned to work to help their team out against the Welsh side.
Eben Etzebeth is having the injury he suffered against the DHL Stormers rehabilitated but all the other current Boks have reported to duty.
That means that we can probably expect Andre Esterhuizen to return as captain, with Thomas du Toit, Ox Nche, Ethan Hooker and Edwill van der Merwe also in the selection mix.
The one good thing from a Sharks perspective is that after their good win in France rushing back Boks seems less of an imperative than it seemed in past seasons when there was more of a chasm between the quality of the first choice team and the second stringers.
MASSIVE BELIEF
Lewies, now 34, has returned to the Sharks after seven seasons overseas and brought some invaluable experience to the Sharks team that won in Lyon.
As someone who has captained Harlequins, he has the breadth of knowledge to rub off on the younger players, although he feels their youthfulness might mean the significance of what they did at the weekend could be lost on them.
“That was a special victory. A win in Europe is always something to celebrate, particularly at a place like Lyon,” said Lewies.
“It was great to achieve a result like that with so many young players. I pushed up the average age of the team. A win like that gives you an opportunity to grow as a team. It is lekker to learn from games and you do that when you play in France. To go to France in a hostile environment and win is a massive achievement. But sometimes when you are young you don’t realise what you have achieved.
“The pleasing thing was how we stuck in the fight, even when it got difficult for us (at Stade de Gerland). You have to go full out for a full 80 minutes to get a result like that,” he added.
Lewies said the win in Lyon will give the team massive belief ahead of the Cardiff game, particularly as the 4G surface in Cardiff is one of Cardiff’s big weapons and the win over Lyon was achieved on a similar surface.
“100 per cent, that belief is what the coaches are trying to build, to have the belief you are never out of the game. We showed that off the final move, with (Zekhethelo) Siyaya showing great bravery with that final pass (that put Lilethile Bester in for the winning try after the hooter). You have to be brave to do that, and winning like that does bring you closer as a group, you can feel everyone just drawing closer in a moment like that.
“What it means also is that in future when we are under pressure we can look back at the times we were under pressure against Lyon and then refer back to that, with the knowledge that we have been there before and come through to win.
In all sports when you get momentum you want to build on that. We know it is very important for us to back up this week. We need to stick to the systems, learn fast and get better each week. We want to take our performance up another level this weekend. There are a few areas we can improve on and we are working on those. Cardiff are a good set piece team with an excellent kicking game and weather always plays a role in a place like Cardiff.”
The Sharks team for Friday night’s game (kick-off 20.45) will be announced on Thursday.