The breakdown threat that Southern Kings openside flanker Chris Cloete poses has not gone unnoticed by the Sharks‚ especially in the light of how he made a serious nuisance of himself when the sides met on March 18.
While the former Sharks product may not be the strongest of ball carriers‚ he is one of the few out-and-out fetchers in operation for the South African Super Rugby franchises.
Sharks lock Stephan Lewies knows Cloete will be a clear and present danger when they meet the Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
“We know Chris very well‚ he's from here‚" Lewies said.
"He's very strong and very good on the floor.
"It's very hard to get him off the ball.
"We've been training hard to counter him and in the first game against the Southern Kings‚ we took him out of the game‚” Lewies said.
“I think the focus for this game is the same but we also need to concentrate on our game and not on their game.
"He is a threat and if there's something we want to be good at‚ it's our ruck.”
Due to the excellence of the incumbent locks like Eben Etzebeth‚ Pieter-Steph du Toit and Lodewyk de Jager‚ Lewies could be destined to be a one-cap wonder.
The Selborne College old boy's first and only test came during Heyneke Meyer's reign when the Springboks beat Scotland 55-6.
With Etienne Oosthuizen leaving the Sharks for Lyon at the end of the Super Rugby season‚ Lewies has a chance to establish himself as one of the understudies in the event the injury curse makes an inevitable appearance.
Lewies is enjoying the healthy competition between him‚ Oosthuizen and Ruan Botha but he's also happy with the general efficiency of the Sharks forward pack.
“There's healthy competition between the three of us and when one of us gets a chance‚ we've all done well.
"It's good competition and we've also got competition in other positions and that is good for the team‚” Lewies said.
“There's always the talk that the forwards have to lay the platform.
"In any form of rugby‚ when your forwards function well and when your set-piece is functioning well‚ it bodes well for the backs.
"I think that also counts for our team because our backs are young.
"As forwards we enjoy taking leadership and giving our backs a platform.” - TMG Digital/TMG Sport
The Sharks expect former product Cloete to be a clear and present danger when they meet the Kings
The breakdown threat that Southern Kings openside flanker Chris Cloete poses has not gone unnoticed by the Sharks‚ especially in the light of how he made a serious nuisance of himself when the sides met on March 18.
While the former Sharks product may not be the strongest of ball carriers‚ he is one of the few out-and-out fetchers in operation for the South African Super Rugby franchises.
Sharks lock Stephan Lewies knows Cloete will be a clear and present danger when they meet the Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
“We know Chris very well‚ he's from here‚" Lewies said.
"He's very strong and very good on the floor.
"It's very hard to get him off the ball.
"We've been training hard to counter him and in the first game against the Southern Kings‚ we took him out of the game‚” Lewies said.
“I think the focus for this game is the same but we also need to concentrate on our game and not on their game.
"He is a threat and if there's something we want to be good at‚ it's our ruck.”
Due to the excellence of the incumbent locks like Eben Etzebeth‚ Pieter-Steph du Toit and Lodewyk de Jager‚ Lewies could be destined to be a one-cap wonder.
The Selborne College old boy's first and only test came during Heyneke Meyer's reign when the Springboks beat Scotland 55-6.
With Etienne Oosthuizen leaving the Sharks for Lyon at the end of the Super Rugby season‚ Lewies has a chance to establish himself as one of the understudies in the event the injury curse makes an inevitable appearance.
Lewies is enjoying the healthy competition between him‚ Oosthuizen and Ruan Botha but he's also happy with the general efficiency of the Sharks forward pack.
“There's healthy competition between the three of us and when one of us gets a chance‚ we've all done well.
"It's good competition and we've also got competition in other positions and that is good for the team‚” Lewies said.
“There's always the talk that the forwards have to lay the platform.
"In any form of rugby‚ when your forwards function well and when your set-piece is functioning well‚ it bodes well for the backs.
"I think that also counts for our team because our backs are young.
"As forwards we enjoy taking leadership and giving our backs a platform.” - TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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