Sharks told to sharpen up set-piece

Editor

Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold is looking to see more of a platform from his pack at the scrum and lineout against the Blues this week.

The Sharks currently rank 10th and 17th respectively for scrums and lineouts in the competition after the opening rounds.

Gold has promoted Lourens Adriaanse into the front-row for Saturday's game at Eden Park while Stephan Lewies returns at lock, as the Sharks look for improvements in both departments.

"It's vital for us to try to get some parity at scrum times," Gold told the Sharks website.

"It's really important from that point of view to give ourselves enough opportunity to be able to launch attacks against them. We need to be a lot neater and accurate at set-piece time.

"We need to get a lot more set-piece ball."

Gold and the Sharks also have plenty of respect for the threat the Blues can pose out wide, noting the footwork of the likes of Tevita Li and Rieko Ioane.

"They have some massive ball carriers up front, a good set-piece and some electric backs who are renowned steppers who use the width of the field very well," Gold said.

"They will pose a massive challenge for us and we'll have to have our wits about us to be able to deal with their attacking game."