It was their first defeat in five matches, but the Cell C Sharks will look to take valuable lessons from their Currie Cup loss to Western Province, and look to improve on a style of play they have embraced.
With the swing in momentum away from the early ascension of Western Province to the Cell C Sharks late in the first half, back to the home team throughout the second half, it was a disappointing evening for the visitors.
“We were out-played and out-passioned,” was Head Coach Robert du Preez’s summation of the Currie Cup match.
“We were never in the game in the first half and got lucky to get back into it and go ahead at half-time. In the first 20 minutes when they scored quickly, that was disappointing and with all the possession we had, we should have done a lot more with it.”
But he warned that there is no need to panic or question how they want to play in this tournament.
“We’re not going to go away from the way we want to play, which is a ball in hand style of rugby. We had our opportunities in this game, but we just couldn’t look after the ball.”
He also lamented the number of penalties conceded which had an impact on their continuity.
“Our discipline wasn’t great and when that happens, it’s going to stop your momentum.”
Du Preez felt that there were positives to take out of the game. Although his team scored two tries, certainly there were many other chances to score and that’s a positive; when you aren’t an attacking threat then there is a real problem.
“We created opportunities and there were some good passages of play,” he said, “but you need to respect the ball and look after it. That’s been a bit of a trend with us, that we have made unforced errors this competition, tonight there were more. But that’s going to happen when you play a team that really brings everything at you.”
He advised though that they are something of a work in progress, having embraced a style of rugby that has required changes to thinking, to preparing, and to implementing, all of which cannot be achieved overnight.
“If you want to play an expansive game, a fifteen man game with ball in hand, you have work hard on your core skills, which we have been doing,” he explained.
“We aren’t going to go away from that, we’ll stick to it because I believe it’s how we should be playing.
“Next week is a massive game for us at home against Free State who are unbeaten, we have some work to do.”
The post Disappointment in Defeat appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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