The Cell C Sharks will be given some time off to enjoy a well-deserved break following a brutal schedule of rugby and travel as they rest up during this bye week, before the break for the June international window.
The past three weeks have been hugely rewarding, not only from a success point of view (three wins from three matches), but also from the way they have gone about it. They have played top class opposition, they’ve traveled extensively, and they have found ways to win when they needed to dig deep or when the occasion to really play exciting running rugby presented itself.
As they did against the Kings this past weekend at Growthpoint KINGS PARK when they defeated the PE side 53-0.
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Gary Gold was proud of his team in the post-match analysis.
“We had a very specific plan in terms of how we wanted to start the game and when you play a team as courageous as the Kings, we never wanted to get into an arm wrestle, and we didn’t,” he explained after the game.
“In the first half we controlled things well and capitalised on our opportunities, ironically though, we didn’t do that in the second half. Perhaps the changes we made would have disrupted things a bit and we did not take a few more opportunities in the second half.”
He also felt it only fair to commend the Kings for their grit and commitment, particularly in the second half when there was no way of coming back from 43-0.
“Fair play to the Kings, they had a never-say-die attitude and they were pretty physical in the contact situation and we lost a bit of ball there.
“At the end of the day, a bonus point win and keeping the Kings scoreless was very pleasing.”
Having Pat Lambie back is a massive plus and while Garth April filled in with commendable performances, perhaps Lambie’s experience was an important factor.
“What we’ve been trying to do in the past but haven’t managed to finish was possibly a case of overcomplicating things,” Gold explained. “When we took the simple options available to us, we looked good and scored the tries we did.
“Pat made a huge difference in this game. There’s no getting away from the fact that he’s a 50-plus test match rugby player and he’s our captain. His loss was a big blow to us at the time and now it’s wonderful to have him back.”
Tera Mtembu is one of the big players who has also only recently returned from injury and Gold was thrilled with his contribution in the game.
“It was fantastic to see him get a good run; he’s worked so hard after such terrible luck last year when he went from one injury to the next and he’s involved again and it’s great that he’s had this opportunity to get a run. I thought he played really nicely when he came on.”
The news on the man he replaced, Daniel du Preez, isn’t so rosy as Gold confirmed that he may have torn his groin. “We do have six weeks to look after him and get him better. Hopefully it’s not so bad that it requires an operation.”
The post Well Deserved Break appeared first on Sharks Rugby.
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