End of torrid tour in sight
February 28, 2008 - 8:27PM
The end of a torrid tour of South Africa is in sight for the Western Force and skipper Nathan Sharpe says victory against the Lions tomorrow would put them ahead of their own expectations.
They lost their first game and a halfback following Matt Henjak's banishment, but Sharpe says the Perth-based side gained more strength in overcoming adversity in the last-gasp one-point win over the Cheetahs last week.
And with this weekend's opponent still licking their wounds following a 55-10 mauling by the Blues, the Wallaby lock said the chance to claim nine points from the hardest possible start to the Super 14 season was a huge incentive prior to a return to Perth.
"If we can pick up a win that is nine points from the three games on the road in South Africa and that will be well ahead of expectations," Sharpe said.
"We played some very good rugby (last week) which we failed to capitalise on until the last minute last week.
"And our finishing off, we put ourselves in position to score three or four tries more than we did and it was just that last pass."
With Cameron Shepherd restored to the backline following a knee niggle, the worries over a similar problem for Scott Staniforth also eased at the captain's run in Durban.
Coach John Mitchell said the finishing power of his backline had been his focus this week, after bags of possession only yielded one try last week.
"The amount of possession we had in that game and the number of times we breached, we didn't convert," he said.
"We have looked to that this week in a serious manner and will try to rectify why we are not getting more tries."
As the deadline for Henjak to appeal his sacking passed without word today, Mitchell was still answering questions about the effect the saga had had on the team.
With Henjak gone, and Haig Sare due to return to light training in Perth on Monday, Mitchell said the differences of two individuals had had no impact on his team.
"The whole squad certainly does not have that mentality, so we are just focused on what is needed and we have got our goals within the group that are important," Mitchell said.
"That is just between those two, it is nothing to do with the team, we just move on and as a result along came another opportunity and people have tightened up their standards.
"Teams and individuals learn from such circumstance."
Captain and coach are both expecting the Lions to learn from their traumatic outing against the Blues last week, with the former All Black coach predicting a physical and direct opponent - Mitchell-speak for a battering up front.
Lions coach Eugene Loffie Eloff looks set to prove the prediction right, recalling flanker and captain Ernst Joubert from a two-week injury lay-off and restoring backrow forward Joe van Niekerk to the starting line-up.
"We're going to have to be clinical this weekend, ensure we don't panic and get back to winning as soon as possible," said Eloff.
AAP
