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SARE HOPING TO HELP LIFT EMIRATES WESTERN FORCE OVER SHARKS
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 2:26pm
By Chris Pike
Like the rest of his Emirates Western Force teammates, Haig Sare is glad to be home and confident of a win over the Sharks on Saturday night to set the Force up well for a crack at the top-four.
After a win and loss at home to start the season, the Force had an up and down three-week road trip recording a win over the Brumbies, loss to the Chiefs and draw with the Crusaders.
Winger Sare has played in four of the five games, scored a try on Saturday against the Crusaders and knows how important, albeit tough, a win over the Sharks will be this Saturday night at Subiaco Oval.
"As soon as the game finished against the Crusaders, we spoke about how this is a huge week for us. They (the Sharks) probably were the top team leading into last week when the Reds played extremely well to knock them off, but this is an opportunity for us," Sare said.
"We're back home, they've been on the road for a little bit now and I don’t know if they'll be hungrier after their loss or doubting themselves, but either way we have to focus on ourselves. This is a real pinnacle for us and if we overcome it we can set up the rest of the season."
Three weeks on the road can take it out of anyone, but Sare is hoping the Force can reap the benefits of being back in Perth and the Sharks of Natal now in their final week of a four-game away run. Performing better in the second half is the Force's main focus though.
"The weather is certainly more inviting back here than the snow we saw on the mountains of Queenstown. It's good to tour, but even better to be back home in familiar surroundings again.
"We seem to get up a lot for the Australian teams and there's always a massive focus leading into those games, so the challenge is to be able to have that same focus when we play South African and New Zealand teams. We did bounce back a little after the Chiefs game, but we seem to give teams too big of a lead before we start really playing.
"This week we've put a big emphasis on starting well and not giving the opposition the chance to open up a gap early. We are just looking at how we finish and making sure we start games the same way. It just seems that it takes us to fall behind to get focused and ready to play, so starting well is our focus."
Sare's try against the Crusaders thanks to Matt Giteau's brilliance was just the second of his 23-cap Super 14 career, but he's glad he held his nerve.
"Gits looked after me a bit there and watching the replay he probably could have got there himself. It's always good to get over the try line though. I had a lot of time to think and knew all I had to do was catch it and score, and when you have that time to think it's when you start doubting yourself," he said.
"As soon as I caught the ball, I realised I was tight with the sideline so just tried to get it down as quickly as I could. Gits is in some great touch at the moment. He's slicing them up at will and organising the team well, so we are grateful to have him."
Sare had a late start to the 2008 season after breaking his jaw in an off-field incident with Matt Henjak and is certainly feeling in good shape after a terrific pre-season.
"It's been a huge plus. It's quite a demanding season so you rely on the strength and fitness gains that you make over pre-season. I felt in good nick coming into the season and hopefully I reap some benefits for that," he said.
"I'm reasonably happy. You always want as much game time as you can, but I just hope I make the most of my opportunities and if there are some things that I can work on each time I'm out there, I hope to improve."
With Drew Mitchell (neck), Cameron Shepherd (ankle) and Nick Cummins (hamstring) in doubt for Saturday night, Sare looks set to start again but isn’t looking it as a chance to cement his spot.
"I try not to think too much about cementing my spot or anything when I go out and play. I just try to take my opportunities when they come and if I did focus on any game being the one to seal a position, I'd overplay my hand," he said.
"I just try to go through the motions of treating it like any other game, focusing on my goals and not changing things too much. I just want to make the most of the opportunities when they arrive and hopefully the coaches will be pleased."
As for the Force wearing pink jerseys, boots and the lines on Subiaco Oval being pink on Saturday in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Western Australia, Sare is happy to support such a cause.
"It's for an awesome cause so all the boys are happy to support it."
http://rugbywa.com.au/news/article,55272.html
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Can't wait to see them out on the pitch Saturday!
Courtesy of quality South African commentry
Originally Posted by robyn <3
So anyway, I hope Sare decides to stop shitting himself every time he gets anywhere near the sideline, and use that as an excuse to run away from his support and throw dickhead hospital passes.
