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Jaden Hendrikse. (Photo by Steve Haag / Gallo Images)
(Photo by Steve Haag / Gallo Images)
- Sharks head coach Sean Everitt was pleased with his team’s attacking intent in the Bulls’ 45-12 win, saying that was his identity.
- The Sharks scored seven attempts, five in 25 minutes, to win their final game before the Rainbow Cup begins next month.
- Everitt was also impressed by his 20-year-old forward, Emile van Heerden.
Trainer Sean Everitt He flashed a satisfied smile after his Sharks displayed the kind of attacking intent to beat the Bulls that earned them national admiration during Super Rugby last year.
Everitt said the appetite to attack opponents like they did the Bulls, from the first minute of Friday night’s 45-12 victory, had never left them.
The conservative rugby stint during Super Rugby Unlocked and parts of the Currie Cup were necessary to navigate testing new playing conditions during the summer, in an effort to remain competitive.
READ | Insatiable sharks score five attempts in 25 minutes to kill Bulls
But the shackles were fully released on a soggy Shark Tank as the Sharks made five attempts in a sensational 25 minutes of the first half and added two more late in the game to close out the warm-up series with a resounding victory over their foe Pretoria.
“When you have the opportunities, you have to take them and tonight (Friday night) there were a lot of opportunities to counter and turnovers,” Everitt said.
“We want to encourage the boys to [exploit] This is because it is an unstructured defense. We don’t really stray from the way we play.
“We had a lot of interruptions during Super Rugby Unlocked with injuries and everything. Sometimes with all the changes you make each week, you have to keep the plan very simple and be somewhat conservative if you want to win trophies.
“But at the same time, we have a flexible game plan that we can adjust according to the conditions that arise and the different defenses.
“Yes, we want to attack. That is our identity, that is our DNA. Our DNA shifts more towards transitional rugby, from attack to defense and from defense to attack, so that’s where our strengths lie.
“I think the guys defended very well tonight and put the Bulls under immense pressure. Credit to the team for their pace of work.
“They really wanted to do a good performance and they did.”
The Bulls scored just two attempts in the contest but, to their credit, they stopped the bleeding from all 25th minute until the last embers of the game when Rynhardt Jonker and Sanele Nohamba scored late for the hosts.
At the time, the Bulls had 13 men, following two yellow cards for the visitors.
Despite having spent more than half an hour without disturbing the scorers, Everitt was delighted with the overall performance of the Sharks in their last game before the Rainbow Cup begins next month.
“I thought the guys were outstanding for 31 minutes,” he said.
“Unfortunately [at certain periods] It went a bit wrong, but I won’t focus on the negatives, we know what they are and we can fix the things that didn’t work for us.
“The guys came out in very difficult conditions, it was damp and wet, and they were really brave with the ball in hand.
“We wanted to play fast and it worked out well on Friday night. The skill level of the guys was really high.
“I’m very happy with how they played. I said that the preparation series is about putting together processes for the long-term goal and we certainly achieved that, as well as providing opportunities for everyone else.”
“Emile van Heerden, who is 20 years old, was put in charge of the lineout, so he has learned a lot and it is great that he had that opportunity.”
