A team doesn’t always lose because they are a poor team, but often the fear of failure or trying too hard when things don’t work out can have the opposite effect to what everyone is striving towards.
But when the effort, desire and accuracy all come together, there’s little stopping a team which is exactly what happened in our 63-40 Vodacom Super Rugby clash with the Blues on the weekend.
“We’re very pleased with the win,” said Head coach Robert du Preez after the match. “It’s been a tough three weeks on the road.
“The boys have been a bit nervous, a fear of failure I guess and I wanted them to come out and play and really enjoy themselves,” he added, and that was exactly what he got. The players expressed themselves, never panicked when the Blues came back to lead the game, and instead, showed what they are capable of.
We might be the Blues’ bogey team, but a game isn’t won or lost according to the history books, and after losses in our two games in Australia, this was an important win. Not only for the log points, but for the way in which the victory was achieved.
It was spectacular and at times breathless stuff.
So what was key to turning things around?
“The big thing was that the effort was there in the previous games, but our accuracy was lacking and something we spoke about the whole week leading into the game against the Blues: to be more accurate when we do get opportunities,” he explained.
With six tries apiece, he added that the boot was the difference. Robert du Preez Jnr kicked with unerring accuracy, converting six tries, seven penalties and scoring a try for an individual points haul of 38.
“The boot made the big difference,” said du Preez. But at a stage he admitted that there were concerns, the Blues scoring three tries in quick succession. “I thought we had let them off the hook, that yellow card cost us. But the boys came back, they stuck at it.”
He pinpointed the loose-forward trio as having a big contribution in the game, saying: “They were very good, Philip van der Walt returning to the side brings a lot of leadership with all his experience which is something we’ve been lacking in the pack. He’s a guy who plays with a lot of courage.”
The Cell C Sharks are now tied second on the South African Conference, equal with the Stormers on 13 points, with the Lions, despite losing to the Crusaders on Sunday, leading on 20 points.
The final tour match takes place in Wellington this Friday morning when we take on the Hurricanes before returning home.
“We needed this victory to turn our campaign around, but it doesn’t get any easier this week,” the coach admitted.
“We take a lot of confidence out of this win, but we’re up against a quality side, probably the best side in New Zealand, in Super Rugby at this stage. But I think the boys will have a lot of confidence going into this game.”
The post Playing with Joy appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
Fill in the form below to have your blog featured on MyDurban – we will post a snippet and title link to your new blog posts.
Submit and get free press releases here: MyPR Free Press Release | Meet the Durban Bloggers.
