American Marconi Wireless News - Ex-Baby Bok skipper Ward 'finding his feet' at Stade Francais

Ward, 26, led his country's under-20s side in 2016 and joined the Parisians in September after six years with the Sharks.

"I felt stepping into a new environment was something that could get the best out of me as a rugby player," Ward told AFP on Thursday.

"I've only been here three weeks but I'm starting to find my feet in the club," he added.

The midfielder has arrived in the French capital after a summer where the 14-time champions' stalwart in Fiji's Waisea Nayacalevu and ex-New Zealand centre Ngani Laumape left.

"The pink shirts stand out more than anything," Ward said.

"The club has such a rich history, it has an incredible background, it's known throughout the world so when they did come calling I was really excited by it," he added.

At Stade Jean-Bouin, the home to the outfit founded in 1891, Ward has teamed up with two former team-mates.

Ex-Sharks lock JJ van der Mescht, who scored his third try in two games during last Saturday's dramatic late win at Pau arrived last season while scrum-half James Hall is in his fourth campaign after signing his first senior deal with the Southern Kings alongside Ward.

"It's nice to be playing back with James," Ward said.

"We were room-mates the years after school and at South Africa's under 20s so we've come a long way. It's a cool reunion we have here," he added.

- 'Fired up' Brive -

Ward has yet to make the set up to the Springboks' senior side and the Grey High School graduate said his focus is on his new side.

"All my energy right now is heading through Stade Francais, settling in, playing the rugby that I'm capable of," he said.

"Get a good consistent run of games and I can only hope that my form can pick up and my ability will take care of the rest," he added.

This weekend, Ward is set to face the 1997 European champions, who sacked coach Jeremy Davidson after two heavy losses and replaced him with their lineout specialist Arnaud Mela.

"We're expecting Brive to be fired up for the game and to be really motivated as well," Ward said.

"Changes can do that, they can motivate you. They'll come with all their might, all we can do is make sure we're ready for that," he added.

Elsewhere, Racing 92 host champions Montpellier days after fly-half Finn Russell was omitted from Scotland's autumn Tests squad.

On Sunday, there is a repeat of 2021's domestic and European finals as Toulouse welcome La Rochelle.

France fly-half Romain Ntamack has returned to training for the record 21-time champions after suffering an ankle injury in mid-September in positive news for Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthie before next month's Tests.

Fixtures (times GMT)

Saturday

Racing 92 v Montpellier (1300), Lyon v Pau, Bayonne v Perpignan, Toulon v Castres, Stade Francais v Brive (all 1500), Clermont v Bordeaux-Begles (1905)

Sunday

Toulouse v La Rochelle (1905)

P.Mathewson--AMWN