Sharpe: Boks not as good as they think

Nathan Sharpe, the slap-headed Wallaby and Western Force lock, says that the Australians are looking forward to having another go at the Boks – this time in Sydney. In his opinion, the Springboks aren’t as good as they make themselves out to be.

“Certainly you want to perform well in the big games and that was a big game. Next time we are going to be a lot better for that performance,” said the bald second rower.

“They like to talk themselves up a little bit and that is always a good incentive for us to play well and that certainly helped us.”

When asked if the Springboks were as good as they made themselves out to be, the hairless lock said “No, I don’t think so.”

“They are always a different team to play at home and we are very much looking forward to meeting them back in Sydney in a couple of weeks time.”

He believes that the All Blacks are a much tougher challenge.

“It’s always a step up when you play the All Blacks, they are certainly the number one side in the world at the moment. They’ve got a game this weekend against South Africa and then they fly back here and play us in Melbourne, so we will catch them on the end of a long journey.”

Sharpe’s second row partner, South African-born Dan Vickerman, also praised the New Zealanders.

“They are a pretty competitive side and they normally travel pretty well and do quite well against the Springboks. I think they will go over there with confidence, they’ve had a few good wins over the French and Canada, so I don’t really think the travel effects them too much, they seem to go well over there.”

They both thought that the Australian lineout needed a bit of work before their next game against the All Blacks.

“Our defensive lineouts worked very well against South Africa, exactly the way we wanted it to, but probably our attacking lineouts let us down a little bit, so that’s an area we need to pick up,” said the follically-challenged Sharpe.