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Cape Town - Sharks coach Brad MacLeod-Henderson knows it will take a "special effort" for them to beat the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup semi-finals at Ellis Park.
The Durbanites travel to Johannesburg to tackle the Lions in Saturday's first semi-final (14:30), while Western Province host the Blue Bulls at Newlands in the later game (17:00).
The Lions showed how ruthless they can be at home when they thumped the Free State Cheetahs 47-7 last weekend.
The Cheetahs were bolstered by returning Springbok players but could not put in the kind of performance they would have liked. The Lions by contrast were clinical and lethal.
However, the Sharks will take heart from the fact that they beat the Lions 26-23 at Kings Park earlier this month.
“We believe we can do it against the Lions on Saturday, but up at Ellis Park it’s going to take a very special effort from us," MacLeod-Henderson told the Sharks' official website.
“There is some relevance in us defeating them two weeks ago and although it was played at home, we will take a lot of confidence out of that win. In fact, to beat both sides above us on the log on consecutive weekends is a boost to the confidence we had already gained. We’ve enjoyed a run of five matches where we were undefeated, so the team is in a good space right now.
“The Lions like to play a lot of rugby; they’ve scored the most number of tries in the competition (44) and if they get on top, they can run away with the game.”
The Durbanites travel to Johannesburg to tackle the Lions in Saturday's first semi-final (14:30), while Western Province host the Blue Bulls at Newlands in the later game (17:00).
The Lions showed how ruthless they can be at home when they thumped the Free State Cheetahs 47-7 last weekend.
The Cheetahs were bolstered by returning Springbok players but could not put in the kind of performance they would have liked. The Lions by contrast were clinical and lethal.
However, the Sharks will take heart from the fact that they beat the Lions 26-23 at Kings Park earlier this month.
“We believe we can do it against the Lions on Saturday, but up at Ellis Park it’s going to take a very special effort from us," MacLeod-Henderson told the Sharks' official website.
“There is some relevance in us defeating them two weeks ago and although it was played at home, we will take a lot of confidence out of that win. In fact, to beat both sides above us on the log on consecutive weekends is a boost to the confidence we had already gained. We’ve enjoyed a run of five matches where we were undefeated, so the team is in a good space right now.
“The Lions like to play a lot of rugby; they’ve scored the most number of tries in the competition (44) and if they get on top, they can run away with the game.”
