Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe believes last weekend's bye will prove a blessing in disguise, allowing several players to recover from knocks after a tough round-one Super Rugby loss to Queensland.

The Force were able to name an unchanged starting line-up for Saturday night's clash with the unbeaten Sharks, a situation that may not have happened had the team been in action last weekend.

"... You look at the season and you think second week bye - not so good," Sharpe said on Friday.

"But we had a few knocks and a few guys carrying a few niggles so the week's been very good for us.

"We trained very hard last week in the bye week and this week we've really taken to this game."

Sharpe said they were still disappointed at letting the game slip against the Reds, with Queensland coming from behind to prevail by one point.

"We've had a lot of pats on the back from people who are outside the team - people who weren't expecting us to go that well," he said.

"But we were very disappointed after that game.

"That's three points to us in a competition where we should've taken those three points against a team that we knew we could beat.

"So this weekend it's for us to start regaining those three points and the Sharks are a formidable opponent at the best of times and a great way to challenge ourselves."

Sharpe said the Force were preparing for a physical barrage from the Sharks.

"You play a team from South Africa and I think from a physical point of view you know that you're going to have a heavy day, you're going to have a heavy workload," he said.

"They've got some big boys and they like to play that forward-orientated game."

Much of the game's focus will centre on the battle of the 20-year-old five-eighths, with Force whizz kid James O'Connor up against the talented Patrick Lambie.

Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford said his team would try to force O'Connor into mistakes.

"He's a good player but new to the position so we'll have to see how he responds to the pressure we exert on him," Bashford said.

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