There is electricity in the air in the Sharks camp for the Currie Cup final - an element that has been missing the past two seasons.
A bitterly disappointed Mark Andrews, who will not be on the field because of a niggling injury, described the feeling of anticipation leading up to the game against Western Province at Fedsure Newlands on Saturday.
"It's as if you've been called to the headmaster's office and know you are going to get the caning of your life," he said. "That is the knot that sits in your stomach before a game. For some guys it's so bad they are physically sick in the change room before the game. But once you're on the field, that knot unravels and you get on with the game."
Most of the squad for Saturday's game have experienced a final at Sharks coach Rudolf Straeuli's hands, with only the two youngsters, Deon Carstens and Lukas van Biljon, facing their first.
This is the third successive time the Sharks have made it to the final and they are hoping to bring back the cup to the trophy cabinet that has been empty since 1996. As Straeuli said last Saturday after the semi-final, the team has worked hard this season, but practice time is over. If almost 10 months of training and preparation this season have not prepared the players, they will never be ready.
"It comes back to determination and will," said Straeuli. "If we want to win, we will."
"There is a definite buzz in the camp this season," said Sharks centre Trevor Halstead. "We are nervously confident."
The players have realised that Western Province's continuous barbs about the Sharks' rough play and "underhanded tactics" are just an attempt to unhinge them.
"They are a bunch of whingers, and we expect that type of comment from them," said Halstead. "They're the ones who end up looking stupid."
Western Province have lost only one game this season, and that was to the Sharks at Absa Stadium three weeks ago. The Sharks have lost two games - to the Gauteng Falcons and OFS Cheetahs -- both within seven points. Western Province also have the homeground advantage, and a reliable kicker in Braam van Straaten.
But Michael Shafto reports that even if the Sharks wrest the gold trophy from Western Province, there will be no celebrations for the players.
A crying shame? The majority of the Sharks team believe so. A source closely connected to the team told The Independent on Saturday that team members were "most upset".
"They have to leave straight after the game - all three KwaZulu-Natal teams; the senior team, the Merit A side and the under-23s. They arrive back here just before midnight."
The keen Sharks fan said: "Players have even offered to pay their own way so that they can stay after the match and enjoy a few drinks with their Western Province opponents. But they have been told that everyone has to be on that flight."
