The Hollywoodbets Sharks went into Friday evening’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash with Glasgow Warriors knowing that they were entering hostile enemy territory, a home fortress that does not offer much in the way of welcome hospitality for visiting teams.
With an eye on the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final and the need to rest senior players who have carried a heavy workload over the last few weeks, this match was an ideal opportunity to continue to grow squad depth while freshening up the players who will be filtered back into the side for the upcoming URC match against the Scarlets, and the semi-final against Clermont Auvergne at the Twickenham Stoop a week later on Saturday 4 May.
“I’m really proud of the boys’ effort, it showed me that they weren’t intimidated in that environment which is quite a fortress for them,” Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach John Plumtree said after the match.
Given all the changes in an intricate planning period over the course of the demands and aspirations across the two competitions, team selection for the match reflected the need to balance player need for work and for rest.
“A lot of boys hadn’t played for a while so we looked rusty, particularly for the first 25 minutes and our skillsets let us down in the pressure zones like the tackle area.
“We couldn’t capitalise on the territory we did get in the first half.”
As the game progressed and the Hollywoodbets Sharks started to gel as a team, with the added coming to terms with the 5g pitch, so Glasgow started to feel the pressure. Accomplished as they are at home with an enviable record against visiting teams, the Scots were actually outscored one try to nil and held completely scoreless in the second half.
“That try before half-time hurt us, but I was impressed with a lot of our defence, we really swamped them and I was really proud of that effort,” said Plumtree.
“The big thing was playing for 80 minutes, we didn’t think we’d be a cohesive side because this team hasn’t played together, but I was really, really happy with the effort.
“It was a great start to our tour – even though we lost – some guys put their hands up and we look forward to the rest of the boys joining in Wales from Durban where we’ll have a good week as we look forward to the Scarlets’ game.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks’ next assignment sees them head to Wales to take on the 14th placed Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Friday evening before heading to London for the highly-anticipated EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final.
The post Proud of the Effort appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
Match report: Going Down Fighting:
The Hollywoodbets Sharks succumbed to a determined Glasgow Warriors side in a tight, combative Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Friday evening, going down three tries to two in a pulsating 21-10 contest.
Glasgow maintained their impressive home record, using their 5g artificial pitch to their advantage as they played a relentless, high-paced, ball-in-hand style of play. They didn’t have matters all go their way and suffered a yellow card for repeated infringements late in the first half.
They were also forced to work hard for their points, but ultimately had too much in the tank to relinquish the hold they’ve had over visiting teams over the last two seasons.
Glasgow struck the first blow, a converted try giving them the advantage on the scoreboard, but the game lacked structure with neither side really able to build momentum with both teams unable to build the kind of pressure that results in points.
Glasgow’s competing for the ball on the ground gave them the edge at the breakdowns, but the physical battle was won by the Hollywoodbets Sharks on attack.
A strong scrum from the home side after the ball had failed to be controlled in the 22 put Glasgow on the front foot and their ferocious attack built the pressure that finally saw them double their score, the conversion taking them 14-0 ahead on the half hour.
Glasgow had to see out the remaining five minutes of the half (and five of the second half) a man down after conceding a litany of penalties defending in their 22 and the response was almost immediate, Dan Jooste driven over from a strong maul to get his team on the scoreboard.
Three minutes of extra time was played, the home side looking to close out on a high and they managed to build enough pressure to score their third try in the last play of the game, taking a 21-5 lead into the half-time break.
Glasgow had the lion’s share of possession in the second half, managing to work their way into the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ 22 and forcing the visitors into defending for their lives. To their credit, they stood up to everything the home side threw into their attack, and it was a substantial and sustained effort from the Warriors with their energy-demanding play.
One man kept standing out with his workrate, Corne Rahl making an incredible shift and being involved in every play, on defence and attack, making a nuisance of himself and always making a valuable contribution.
He’d been active in Glasgow being driven backwards and eventually the Hollywoodbets Sharks were on attack, Ntuthuko Mchunu closing out a decisive attack to cut the lead to 21-10 as the game hit the final quarter.
It would be the only score of the second half, a determined Hollywoodbets Sharks side working hard to haul in their opponents, and smashing them on defence when needed to keep their tryline intact.
It was never going to be an easy assignment, but there was no doubt about the Durban side’s effort and commitment to the cause throughout.
The post Match report: Going Down Fighting appeared first on The Sharks Durban.
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Quick Durban KwaZulu-Natal Fact: Cato Manor in Durban once attracted attention from around the world because it was where rioting broke out in 1959 in protest against the city’s beerhalls and the looming prospect of mass forced removals in which the residents would be uprooted from their homes in terms of the notorious Group Areas Act, and resettled in townships. The area was granted to George Christopher Cato in 1865, perhaps as a reward for his years of community service and for the fact that, in 1854, he had become Durban’s first Mayor. The land was sub-divided in the early 1900s and leased to Indian market gardeners, many of whom were either former indentured labourers, who had come to South Africa to work on the sugar plantations, or their descendents.
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