Sharks coach Sean Everitt said that after being shocked at home by Griquas a month ago, there is zero chance of the Sharks underestimating their opponents.
SHARKS coach Sean Everitt was unamused after his team had lost 35-24 to Western Province at Jonsson Kings Park.
But, as he put it, if ever there is a comfort in losing, it was in a game that had no relevance to the competition points table. For the Sharks, the points on offer were of academic interest only – they could not realistically improve on their second place on the log.
Still, nobody likes to lose, especially at home.
“We are disappointed with the result. We are performance-driven, and that just wasn’t good enough,” Everitt said. “We wanted to build momentum going into the semi-finals, but unfortunately it did not happen, and we will have to take this one on the chin.
Everitt was perturbed that his team were poor in the air, an area in which they are normally strong and typically where they have an advantage over Province.
“The aerial battle was a concern. Normally we are good at it, but we could not win the scraps, and WP made the most of the victories they got in this department,” he said.
“An obvious focus, before we host Griquas in the semi-finals, is fixing our restarts. You can’t build scoreboard pressure if you keep giving up territory just after you have put points on the board.”
Everitt said that after being shocked at home by Griquas a month ago, there is zero chance of the Sharks underestimating their opponents.
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“Griquas have done exceptionally well under (coach) Scott Mathie to get to the semi-finals,” he said.
“They have been consistent week-in week-out, and have rolled over the big boys on a few occasions, beating WP, the Lions, Cheetahs and ourselves.
“They beat us here 37-30, so we have to prepare well and we have to stick to our game plan if we are to make it to the final.”
