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'The hairs on the neck standing up' - Owen Franks wary of Sharks after South Africans beat three Kiwi sides on way to quarter-finals

July 20, 2018

The Crusaders are heavy favourites for their quarter-final match in Christchurch.

Crusaders prop Owen Franks is expecting a fired up Sharks outfit tomorrow night in Christchurch and says the defending Super Rugby champions aren't taking them lightly.

The Sharks haven't played against the Crusaders at all this season but have beaten three New Zealand Super Rugby sides in 2018 (Blues, Highlanders and Chiefs) and lost to the Hurricanes 38-37 in round eight.

"They are going to chuck everything at it, they're physical team and they'll try test us up front," said Franks.

"It's a good challenge for us and I'm looking forward to it."

The Crusaders prop said the Sharks will be a different challenge from their fellow South African counterparts.

"Really explosive attack and not so much typical African play, they chuck the ball around and have really good counter-attack.

"But they also got their big guys they play off as well and they have a good record against Kiwi teams this year so that has the hairs on the neck standing up."

The winner of tomorrow's match will take on the winner of tonight's quarter-final between the Hurricanes and Chiefs.

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