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Cape Town - Sharks coach John Plumtree has called on his players to be more ruthless towards their Super Rugby opponents.
"Often when we have a team where we want them, we let them off the hook.
"It happened twice against the Lions where we got points on the board and should have taken the game away from them. But on both occasions we allowed them to get back into the game.
"I feel it's something we seriously need to look at. In this competition you can't give teams a chance to hurt you when you're dominating.
"The same happened against the Stormers. We had several chances to take control, but failed to do so.
"We have to become more ruthless," Plumtree told Beeld on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis is struggling with his knee, but Plumtree expects him to play against the Reds on Saturday.
Captain Keegan Daniel also hasn't trained this week due to a sore ankle. Daniel, loosehead prop Dale Chadwick, flank Marcell Coetzee, flyhalf Patrick Lambie, centre JP Pietersen and wing Lwazi Mvovo have all played every minute of their first three matches.
The defending champion Reds are the Sharks' first overseas opponents this year, but Plumtree says their approach won't change much from the first three weeks when they faced South African opposition.
"I just want us to build on the good things from the first couple of matches and cut out our errors."
The two teams did not meet last season, but the Sharks have won four of the previous five meetings.
The last time the Reds won at Kings Park was in 2004, when they edged the Sharks 6-5 in a match often dubbed the "worst Super Rugby match of all time".
"Often when we have a team where we want them, we let them off the hook.
"It happened twice against the Lions where we got points on the board and should have taken the game away from them. But on both occasions we allowed them to get back into the game.
"I feel it's something we seriously need to look at. In this competition you can't give teams a chance to hurt you when you're dominating.
"The same happened against the Stormers. We had several chances to take control, but failed to do so.
"We have to become more ruthless," Plumtree told Beeld on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis is struggling with his knee, but Plumtree expects him to play against the Reds on Saturday.
Captain Keegan Daniel also hasn't trained this week due to a sore ankle. Daniel, loosehead prop Dale Chadwick, flank Marcell Coetzee, flyhalf Patrick Lambie, centre JP Pietersen and wing Lwazi Mvovo have all played every minute of their first three matches.
The defending champion Reds are the Sharks' first overseas opponents this year, but Plumtree says their approach won't change much from the first three weeks when they faced South African opposition.
"I just want us to build on the good things from the first couple of matches and cut out our errors."
The two teams did not meet last season, but the Sharks have won four of the previous five meetings.
The last time the Reds won at Kings Park was in 2004, when they edged the Sharks 6-5 in a match often dubbed the "worst Super Rugby match of all time".
