Stung by criticism from coach John Plumtree, the Sharks' Springboks are determined to produce a more "fluent" performance when they travel to Kimberley on Saturday to face a desperate Griquas team in a decisive Currie Cup match.

Plumtree, in the wake of his team's fortuitous 19-17 win over the Golden Lions last week, suggested that some of the all-conquering Boks may not have showed the same hunger for returning to the Currie Cup as they did last year.

"The Boks aren't completely integrated back into the side, some of them looked a bit sluggish," Plumtree told the media this week.

"Getting back up from a hugely successful international season is probably the thing, getting their arousal levels back up to where they need to be."

One of those returning Boks, loose forward Ryan Kankowski, admitted that they may not have been on the mark against the Lions last week, but promised a much improved showing against Griquas.

"Most of the Boks were off for a couple of weeks after the Tri-Nations campaign," Kankowski told this website, adding: "We were also used to the Springbok game plan.

"It will always take a week or two to slot back into the domestic scene and find our feet.

"Also, the games have been tough, and you simply can't take anything away from a very spirited Lions performance.

"Maybe we did let ourselves down a bit, but the guys have been training hard for this week and hopefully we'll better this week.

"I'm sure we'll be more fluent against Griquas on Saturday," the 23-year-old loose forward told us.

'We could get hurt'

The Sharks coach, Plumtree, agreed with Kankowski that his team will need a much improved showing in Kimberley.

"We've played better than that before, but if we play like that against Griquas we could get hurt, so there is a lot of work to do," Plumtree said of Saturday's game.

The Sharks, in second place on the standings behind Western Province (on points difference), needs a full-house five points from the game and then must hope that WP don't get five points from their encounter with the Lions - which will allow the defending champion Sharks to reclaim first place.

The top spot on the standings ensures that if the team advances to the Final, they get hosting rights - a huge advantage in a Final.

Not surprising then that the Sharks are so determined to raise the bar against Griquas, despite having already secured home ground advantage in the semifinals.

They also know that Griquas, who need two points from the match to secure their spot in the play-offs, will not be pushovers.

Kankowski, who has spent most of the season behind Blue Bulls No.8 Pierre Spies on the Bok bench, is also looking for a more improved personal performance.

"It would have been nice to have gotten a bit more game time with the Boks," he said, adding that he will make the most of his opportunities in the next few weeks - ahead of the year-end tour to France, Italy and Ireland.

The trip also includes two mid-week games, against Leicester Tigers and Saracens, which will afford the fringe players more game time.