Sheridan happy to win for team

With the Test series against world champions South Africa starting in less than a fortnight's time, Sheridan could not have chosen a better time to put down his marker.

He said: "It is not about me trying to make statements, it's getting the opportunity to play and go out and do my very best."

The England prop won unstinting praise from Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske, who felt his scrummaging prowess will set alarm bells ringing in the Springboks camp.

"Andrew Sheridan is one of, if not the most powerful loosehead prop in the world," said former South African Test hooker Drotske.

"We expected him to cause us a lot of problems, and he did. I suspect the Springboks will be expecting him to give them problems as well. He is a tremendous power in the scrum."

The pressure is now on Wales loosehead Gethin Jenkins to deliver against the Sharks in Durban on Wednesday night.

Sheridan looks to have stolen a march following his wrecking job on Cheetahs prop Kobus Calldo that evoked memories of similar destruction against opponents such as Australia prop Al Baxter.

Calldo spent much of the Lions' tense 26-24 victory at Vodacom Park with no real idea how to stop Sheridan's onslaught. The real mystery though, was English referee Wayne Barnes' failure to identify the illegal measures he frequently resorted to.

"We didn't get all the decisions," said Sale Sharks forward Sheridan, in understated fashion. "We had the ascendancy and put them under a bit of pressure, but my opposite number went down a bit. They were a tough, physical team."