Kolisi wary of Vermeulen's Ulster: 'We have to be really strong'

Sharks flank Siya Kolisi says his side is wary of Ulster but is confident they can match the Irish side ahead of their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter this weekend.

The Sharks won their third URC game with a 40-12 win against the Glasglow Warriors at Kings Park last week.

And this weekend, the Durban franchise host Ulster on Saturday with emphasis on the participation of Springbok teammate Duane Vermeulen.

The Irish side are one of the top teams in the competition and their second place on the log adequately underlines the danger they pose.

Kolisi says his side will identify the set-piece battle as one his team would like to really perform well in.

"The set-piece is going to be very important because Ulster have a strong pack and they use their maul effectively," Kolisi told the club's official website.

"They also target the scrum as an area to force penalties and it's somewhere we do want to improve. We gave away one penalty, got one back and earned a tighthead last week so we're going to have to be really strong in the scrums and mauls. They're also very good at the breakdown with their loose forwards.

"In general, they're a gain line team, they want to get over the gain line, so the contact area is going to be important.

"But we have a good pack too, experienced guys who know they need to stand up each weekend. We know there's no place to hide so we need to go flat out and every one of us needs to make sure he's up for the challenge and set the standard from the word go." 

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