Fresh from their bye week and with a number of key players returning, John Smit believes the Sharks are perfectly placed to push for homeground advantage in the play-offs.

Describing it as a "new start" to their season, the Springbok captain told this website the break last week was "essential" for the team in order to recharge their batteries after 10 arduous weeks of Super Rugby that saw a tiring team suffer back-to-back defeats against the Cheetahs and Crusaders.

However, he feels it is vital that they use their "fresh legs" in the weeks to come - and more specifically against the Highlanders on Saturday - to make sure they cement their place in the top four on the standings.

"We have lost two in a row and it has been a while since we lost two in a row," Smit told us.

"We had the beating of the Crusaders in our hands and we let it slip, which is not something we're accustomed to... we are normally pretty good at closing games out.

"So our first priority [on Saturday] is certainly to get back on track."

The Bok captain, who will again scrum down at tighthead prop on Saturday, described the Highlanders as a "formidable side" that are more dangerous than their lowly 10th place on the standings suggest.

"We know that if we can get our game together, we can get back on track [after two successive defeats before the break]," he said.

"We must use this energy that we have now acquired with our week off, and get some confidence out of our big boys coming back," he said of players like Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen and Jean Deysel - who will all be starting on Saturday after missing some game time through injury.

"We see this as a new start to the season, because of the break we had, and we don't want our season to last just another three weeks [the remaining league matches], we want it to be five [including the semifinal and Final].

"That will take a huge commitment from everybody," Smit said.

Smit said he felt as "fresh as daisy" after the bye, having also been rotating at tighthead prop and hooker with the Du Plessis brothers - Jannie and Bismarck - in the first 10 rounds, which also saw him benched for a number of games.

However, the break has done wonders for some of the other players in the squad.

"It was the first time we have gone this long without a break [10 weeks]," Smit said.

"There were other things that influenced us. The loss of [burly flank] Jean Deysel was quite a big blow for us, because he was quite a big part of our pack... from a physicality point of view. Not only does he bash through and over guys, he also stops them in their tracks from a defensive point of view.

"We were lucky enough to have Keegan [Daniel] come in his place, but Keegan is a very different type of player. He doesn't have the strength that Jean has, but he certainly offers something very different.

"No doubt the break has done us a huge amount of good.

"However, we want to make sure we can impose that kind of freshness on the game."

Smit felt that the break, while it saw the tiring team stumble against the Cheetahs and Crusaders, will have other advantages.

"While we pulled through the first 10 weeks and we got this break late, we are probably going to go through these last few weeks, the weeks that count, with the freshest legs in the competition.

"We're getting our big boys back - Jean [Deysel] is back, Ruan [Pienaar] is fit again and JP [Pietersen] is back.

"We are certainly feeling pretty good about where we are at the moment [fourth on the standings with three home games to come].

"Obviously we weren't happy with the hiccups we had, because there were certainly some games we should have won.

"However, when we get into the play-offs those fresh legs will be crucial. It was pretty hard getting through 10 tough weeks, but having come through that we are pretty happy with where we stand now looking forward to the next three pool games."

365

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