Bothma relishing his time in the Tank

In a team blessed with loose-forward talent, Bothma has found himself involved in all nine matches to date in a campaign where his involvement has been very high, reports Sharks website editor Michael Marnewick.

"It’s been an absolute joy to come here, I’m very happy here and I’m enjoying every minute spending time with the guys and playing some lekker rugby with the Sharks," he explained after training.

"It has been a step up from Currie Cup to Super Rugby," he admitted, "but with a bunch of senior guys in the team, a lot of them have helped me from day one and I feel comfortable in the team and it’s an honour to play for the Sharks."

He added that all the game time he has earned a surprise, starting seven of the team’s nine matches to date.

"When I came here, it was just to get some experience.

"I would have never thought I would play in all nine games so far; it’s been a big learning curve but I’ve enjoyed it.

"All the senior players have helped  me.

"Bismarck, Jannie, Marco Wentzel, all the guys have made me feel comfortable in the team and you never stress about too much. They are always there to talk to so it’s been quite a pleasure."

Looking back on Saturday’s performance against the Lions, he felt there were improvements in their game and any areas of concern had been identified in the post-game analysis and this week would be spent rectifying them.

"We made a big step up, especially at the set-pieces.

"I think our defence let us down a little bit and that is something we are working on this week, especially building up to the game against the Bulls.

"It’s definitely going to be a physical battle out there but we are definitely ready for them."

In terms of the slips on defence, he felt it all comes down to individual errors.

"We all made mistakes on the day and that’s what cost us the game.

"Defence is something we pride ourselves on, so this weekend will be a step up for us.

"Although we didn’t win the game, we progressed as a team and did a couple of good things and this weekend is a home game so we need to win this one.

"It’s also the last game before we go on tour so I think this is one of the vital games for the season to get us back into the top. 

"It’s going to be a massive game and we’re all looking forward to it."