When things don’t go according to plan, you can either continue along the same path and believe in the possibility of a different outcome, or, if you’re the Cell C Sharks, you analyse deeply, identify issues and find ways to remedy them.
There have been changes to the preparation of the 2016 Vodacom Super Rugby season that show a difference from 2015. Director of Rugby Gary Gold, for instance, has now had a season in charge and has also been present for the entire pre-season this year, whereas he was still completing his Japan commitments this time last year.
He admits that things are looking positive in 2016.
“I’m really excited, this time last year I was in Japan and we’ve now had a wonderful pre-season so far,” he explains. “After the disappointments and shake-up of the Currie Cup, and lots of introspection – and we needed to do that – we’ve objectively assessed the whole of last year, our frailties and shortcomings.”
He admits that this hasn’t been easy, “But as they say, if you keep doing the same thing hoping for a different result, you could be slightly insane. We’ve changed that, knuckled down and got on with the hard work and we’re really excited about how it’s gone.”
Although he does agree that this is not quite the settled Cell C Sharks squad of perhaps a year ago given player movements in and out of the squad (with experienced, world class players both leaving and entering the team) he is not going to identify that as any kind of chink in the armour or look for excuses.
“We are a team in transition – it’s important to acknowledge that – but not for one second are we going to shy away from the task at hand. Transition is no excuse and although we’ve lost some high calibre players, change is exciting because of our focus of wanting to give those opportunities to the youngsters because we believe we have some great young players.
“It’s a new chapter for many people, for some of the players this is their first full season and proper experience of Super Rugby but I think if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. We have a new competition though and a wonderful group of players who have to step up to the plate.”
Another new chapter sees the appointment of hugely popular Pat Lambie as captain for the season, an inspired choice given the high esteem in which he is held.
“Patrick as our captain is a new voice with a new leadership style, a style I personally am very excited about,” says Gold, “There is no doubt that Patrick is a hugely respected man, he speaks a huge amount of sense and I can say – he won’t because he is too humble – I think that the players love being led by him.
“We continue to work hard every day and hopefully grow and become a tighter unit.
“There is no shortage of enthusiasm and excitement to play for the Cell C Sharks for those players which I take a lot of heart from.”
Image Credit – Steve Haag
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Full article here: Sharks Rugby – michaelm
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