Sharpe pinpoints Bok line-out
Australia will be targeting opposing hooker Schalk Brits as a weak link in the Springbok side ahead of their Tri-Nations clash in Perth on Saturday.
Australia will be targeting opposing hooker Schalk Brits as a weak link in the Springbok side ahead of their Tri-Nations clash in Perth on Saturday.
The third-choice South Africa number two is set to be handed his first Test start due to the injury of John Smit and Bismark du Plessis' suspension after last week's Dunedin win.
And with changes expected in Peter de Villiers' pack, Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe believes his side have spotted a chink in the Boks' armour.
“They lack a little bit of combination now with the guys that will come in so it's an area we'll definitely target,” Sharpe said, speaking to AAP.
“But it's not the be all and end all, there's plenty of areas in the game where you need to get ascendancy.”
However, the experienced Sharpe is not yet guaranteed a starting place in Robbie Deans' weekend line-up following a recent spell on the treatment table.
The Western Force star trained without pain alongside the rest of the squad in Perth this week, but he thinks selection could go either way with Dan Vickerman and James Horwill acting as strong competition.
“There's no guarantees in this game, Robbie will make a decision,” Sharpe continued.
“Hopefully I get an opportunity. I had no problems at all today, it was very good.”
In other injury news, inside centre Berrick Barnes has recovered from a shoulder problem while wing Lote Tuqiri and number eight Wycliff Palu are also both set to return from injuries that forced them to miss the Wallabies final Test against France.
And Assistant Coach Jim Williams believes the hosts will need to up the ante from their French efforts if they are to seriously challenge for Tri-Nations honours this season.
“We need to make sure we can hold our own and even do better than that, we've got to be striving as high as we can to make sure we give them as little ball as possible,” Williams said.
“That will make our job a hell of a lot easier if we can do that. (Victor) Matfield and Bakkies (Botha) are both very confident with the way they go about things (in the line-out) so we'll be working hard on that to make sure we can stifle them in any fashion.”