The Cell C Sharks will be using this week to focus on their Vodacom Super Rugby quarter-final clash with the Lions, with enough ammo to know exactly what is required to get through to the semi’s.
Who would want to be in the Cell C Sharks players’ shoes prior to their game against the Lions this past Saturday when they were in the invidious position of knowing that a loss was the best outcome? When pride suggests that all they wanted to do was win, but the reality was the strangest of bedfellows.
The $ 64 000 question is this: Can the team turn it all around from this past Saturday to the next?
“I think we can,” says Cell C Sharks forwards coach Ryan Strudwick.
“We didn’t perform well on the weekend, we know that, but we know where we went wrong. Obviously there wasn’t much to play for in that game [the Cell C Sharks could not improve on their 8th position overall, nor could they drop out of contention for the knock-out rounds], but there is plenty to play for this weekend and we’re pretty confident the guys will pick it up for Saturday.”
Strudwick doesn’t believe there was some unconscious thing in the back of the players’ minds where nothing to play for hardly contributed to their motivation.
“I don’t think it was sub-conscious, it was definitely there, in the front of their minds; you could tell. In the first half, we really came out and played some good rugby, and defended well. But when the chips were down in the second half, it was almost like the guys already knew the game was going to be there next weekend again.”
Lions coach (and former Cell C Sharks lock) Johan Ackermann admitted after the game that his team hadn’t played as well as he had hoped, thoughts echoed by our coach Robert du Preez about the Cell C Sharks. But regardless of how they play, they’re a dangerous side and any shortcomings will be addressed thus week. As they will be in our camp.
“We know the Lions are a good attacking side, they play a really exciting brand of rugby. But we have done our homework, we aren’t panicking. Yes, they scored some good tries against us but some of those opportunities came off our errors.
“We gave them a lot of ball and gave away lots of penalties and they had the lion’s share of territory and possession. We are aware of that and can’t go into this game with the same attitude; and we need to hold on to the ball a bit better.”
But with everything now having so much more meaning, the motivation and desire will be there, for both sides.
“It’s a knockout game, anything can happen,” he admits. “It’s about those inches and if we can cut out the little errors that are costing us, playing a lot more clinical and composed, then who knows?”
Ultimately, a team needs to have self-belief. Although they lost twice to the Lions in their pool matches, not only is there the motivation of a semi-final place, but the Cell C Sharks came close to upsetting the eventual log leaders, in Johannesburg – the scene of this Saturday’s quarter-final.
“Throughout the season we performed well against the bigger teams and when we played the Lions in JoBurg, we were a bit unlucky there. The guys are approaching this as going into a massive battle, but with confidence and belief that they can win.”
Strudwick has confirmed that there were no injuries suffered in Saturday’s match at Growthpoint KINGS PARK and can select along the lines of continuity.
The post Stepping Up a Gear appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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