The Hollywoodbets Sharks might have lost by a solitary point in their opening Carling Currie Cup clash with the Fidelity ADT Lions on Friday evening, but on the evidence of their showing, there is plenty more to come.
Hollywoodbets Sharks Currie Cup Head coach JP Pietersen admitted after the match how disappointed he was that the team lost, but felt there is plenty to be proud of.
“We wanted to win, it’s a tough pill to swallow because winning home games is even more special,” he said. “But we can be extremely proud of the young guys who put their hands up, there were a lot of nerves in the beginning but this is a talented group and the nice thing about the youngsters putting their hands up is that it lights up the senior players, showing a love for the game and they showed a lot of passion.
“There was a lot of heart shown. Before the game we showed the team the history of the Hollywoodbets Sharks and what it means to wear the jersey and what a privilege it is.
“You could see that the guys were hungry and we now have a good reference point from where we want to work.
“And it’s just the start. It’s the first game together as a group, an opportunity now to work towards next week’s game against Griquas in Kimberley which is going to be a tough task.”
With all the youngsters making their debuts at a senior level, Pietersen was taken back to his own days as a 19-year-old, first playing for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
“Dick Muir told me then that there was no such thing as too much or too little experience, if you’re ready, you’re ready to play.”
One of those youngsters clearly putting his hand up is Eighthman Nick Hatton who has been thrown the added responsibility of captaining the side.
“Nick has shown excellent leadership qualities from his schooldays, and not just as a leader, but as a good rugby player. He achieved a lot in this game,” Pietersen concluded.
Hatton was a disappointed captain following the result, but praised his team for their determination, character and bravery in fighting to the very end to wrestle the result in their favour.
“It was as tough one first game up, but we really gave it a full go and fought, we’re just gutted that we couldn’t get over the line for the fans,” he said afterwards.
“We’re blessed to have quite a few experienced guys with leadership who are showing us the way, both on and off the field. They bring the calmness for us youngsters to go out and express ourselves.”
Despite the loss, it’s still early days in the tournament and the former Hilton College Head of School believes there are numerous positives to take out of the game.
“We showed a lot of fighting character, we stayed in the fight to the end, and scoring four tries is also good. Defensively, we were good in parts, so there are definitely a lot of positives.”
The post Plenty of Positives appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
Match Report – Hollywoodbets Sharks XV vs. Fidelity ADT Lions:
The Carling Currie Cup exploded into life in Durban when the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV welcomed the Fidelity ADT Lions to Hollywoodbets Kings Park before the visitors narrowly came out on top in a tense but highly exciting match.
The hugely entertaining contest went the way of the Lions, narrowly taking a 26-25 win in a game that could have gone either way.
This match emphasised the encouraging times that lie ahead for the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV as a number of youngsters have been exposed to top class rugby and impressed throughout.
The opening period was characterised by enthusiasm on attack as the hosts ran everything at the visiting Lions, showing enterprise on attack, but stern defence denied a break of the deadlock which extended to the 13th minute when the Lions build some continuity on attack before slotting a penalty to take a 3-nil lead.
Both sides enjoyed time on the ball before a stunning break from Diego Appollis who scythed through the defence before feeding wing Jaco Williams who went over untouched for the first try of the game. The allowable time to kick beat Lionel Cronje to the conversion and so the Hollywoodbets Sharks held a two point lead 10 minutes later.
Less than five minutes later the Hollywoodbets Sharks were halfway to a four try bonus point when impressive lock Coetzee Le Roux smashed his way over following a succession of pick and drives from his fellow forwards to take a 10-3 lead just shy of the half hour mark.
With two minutes of play in the half remaining, the visitors put together a well-crafted attack that led to their first try of the game to cut the deficit to just two points with half-time looming.
There was an exciting period of extra time as the Hollywoodbets Sharks looked to add some distance between themselves and the Lions on the scoreboard and looked threatening before the ball was lost and the game closed out an entertaining 40-plus minutes of Currie Cup rugby.
The Lions retook the lead with an almost identical try to their opener, pace on the outside exploiting space with the score in the corner with the touchline conversion handing them the extra two points for a 15-10 lead just after the start.
The Lions’ momentum continued as they earned a penalty from right in front and had no hesitation in opting to go for posts, extending their lead to eight points.
What followed was a try for the ages, a scintillating attack from the Hollywoodbets Sharks and a reverse of the first try, this time Diego Appollis receiving the final pass from Jaco Williams, with Lionel Cronje converting to make it a one point game, 17-18 with half an hour remaining.
The momentum pendulum had truly turned the way of the home side who earned a penalty on attack moments later and Cronje was bang on target to retake the lead.
But the see-sawing nature of the game meant that neither side could pull ahead strongly, with the Lions earning the penalty that saw them go ahead 21-20 in the 55th minute.
Yaw Penxe was agonisingly short of the tryline for what would have been the bonus point try, before the Lions built up a head of steam following personnel changes on both sides, and then managed to get over for a five-pointer to stretch their lead to 26-20 with 15 minutes remaining.
The closing period belonged almost exclusively to the Hollywoodbets Sharks as they chased the try that could win them the game, and it was left to captain Nick Hatton to do the job, the Lions conceding penalties defending their line and the athletic eighthman dummied before crashing over, leaving the conversion to win the game, but the ball went wide.
Almost three minutes of extra time ensued, the Hollywoodbets Sharks chasing a winning score bravely, but having to run the ball out of their 22 proved impossible and they would have to settle for two log points out of this wonderful Currie Cup derby clash.
The post Match Report – Hollywoodbets Sharks XV vs. Fidelity ADT Lions appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
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