André Esterhuizen says the Sharks need to stick together to turn their URC season around against the Scarlets at Kings Park on Saturday.

The Durban-based franchise is under pressure after a Springbok-laden side suffered a 34-26 defeat to Ulster at home last weekend.

The Sharks are 14th on the URC log after four rounds and are still searching for their first win of the season, while the Scarlets are bottom, having lost their opening three matches.

“It’s been a tough week,” Esterhuizen admitted. “Last week we wanted it badly, but I don’t think we were aggressive enough. We made a lot of individual errors, which obviously affects the team.

“But the boys have responded well. We had some hard meetings on Monday and took a hard look at ourselves. We can’t change what’s happened, so the focus is on the next game before the big [URC] break.”

ALSO: Banned Mapimpi out of Bok tour

The Springbok centre said the Sharks had to function as a unit to reach their full potential.

“The key message [this week] is just everyone getting on the same page so that we can play to the level we know we can. There’s no use having a superstar team if we don’t play like one.

“Everything revolves around playing as a team. We need to stick together whether things go well or badly. That’s what team sport is about.”

SHARKS LEGEND: Focus less on big names

When the Sharks and Scarlets met in Durban last season, the hosts claimed an ugly, tryless 12-3 victory.

“Every time we’ve played the Scarlets, they’ve made the game quite messy,” said Esterhuizen. “They like it loose and they love playing off turnovers. Last season when we played them here, it was a messy game with lots of broken play and turnovers.

“We’re expecting a hard physical battle. They’ve also got flair, they play attacking, running rugby. We just need to counter that and play to our strengths.”

MORE: Stonehouse heading to Sharks?

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images