NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has thrown down the challenge to his hungry pack to prove the Sharks wrong and outmuscle the Super Rugby pacesetters in Durban.
Sitting pretty in equal third spot after racking up three bonus-point wins in four starts this campaign, the Waratahs face a stern test of their title credentials on a three-week road trip.
Two matches in South Africa precede an Australian conference derby in Perth with surprise packets the Western Force.
Cheika admits he’ll probably need to “rotate the strike” during the bruising block of matches and has already employed some subtle reverse psychology to fire up his forwards for the Sharks.
“Obviously as table toppers, they’re the team to beat,” Cheika said.
“I imagine they’d be pretty comfortable and think they’ll have our measure, I’d say.
“They’ll probably try to turn it on in the physicality and think we’ll fold. That’s their perception of the Australian teams.
“So we’ll see what happens.”
Skipper and back-rower Dave Dennis suspects his pack will be up for the challenge after delivering a “benchmark” performance in the Waratahs’ 32-8 dispatch of the Melbourne Rebels last Friday night.
“As a pack, it’s just pleasing to see the guy next to you really getting excited about the physicality,” Dennis said.
“Guys are getting off the line, throwing themselves into the tackle and there’s a really good feeling in the forward pack.
“From the start of the whistle, we carried hard, we hit the rucks hard.
“And we’ve known from day one that if we can do that, the guys out the back will finish off.”
Indeed, superstar fullback Israel Folau is finishing off in record style.
His tryscoring double against the Rebels took his tally to eight five-pointers in just four matches in 2014, the most by any player in the opening month of a Super season.
The Waratahs remain confident he will be fit to tackle the Sharks next Sunday morning (AEDT) despite not flying with the rest of the squad to South Africa on Saturday.
Folau copped a knock to the throat against the Rebels and the Waratahs opted for the dual international to wait until the swelling subsided before putting him in the air.
Cheika said Folau was not in danger of missing the Sharks showdown and would likely travel to the republic on Monday.