Dawn Dunn does Newlands
Wow what an absolutely unbelievable experience at Newlands!
OK, first the really MAD UGLY:
Poor and revolting sportsmanship shown by #WP supporters to Sharks supporters in Newlands. Alberts, from Vodacom, and I were treated to aggression, hostility and at one point when it was crystal clear that WP were shell-shocked and were not going to take the lead ever; outright vile verbal abuse. I have never in my life experienced such poor losers! The booing every time my Lambie lined up a kick. The booing, period!
The fact that the stadium emptied out in a record 10 minutes and WP fans did not have the decency to stay and acknowledge the fact that both teams delivered a final that will be preserved in the history books as one of the most exciting and unpredictable.
The bad and nasty
Arrogance shown by WP province supports and the coaching team in celebrating this week as though they had already won the final. The total lack of respect shown to my Boys on the field and on the day. The high tackle by Michael Rhodes on my Bismarck. The legitimate try by Mvovo that was disqualified by TMO for the ½ cm off-side call that you needed a microscope to see!! Really??
The good
The boys so totally controlled the kick-offs, they dominated the collision exactly the way I wanted. In fact, at one point my Fransie had tackled Demetri for like the fourth time and I started feeling sorry for him because he looked exhausted and was sporting a beaut of a black eye! They gave WP absolutely no quality ball to work with, turned over their ball, and put them under immense pressure.
Pieter-Steph had an absolute cracker. Bismarck contested and defended like his life depended on it. Willem Alberts and Fransie together made some truly excellent titanic hits and created absolute havoc on the field. Every single player put his hand up and they have made me so very, very proud of their achievement. Charl Mc Leod’s intercept try truly rattled WP as they were totally blindsided. Lambie’s drop kicks were absolute magic. Cheslin and Gio were completely tackled off the field! The only area that WP dominated was the scrums. They had a lot more handling areas because the boys totally smothered them.
Jonathan Kaplan did his best to make it a fairly contested final and he has my eternal thanks for that. Steven and the rest of the Vodacom team showed great human spirit by being so gracious and generous in their loss.
It was an honour to be part of another Currie Cup Final and the boys showed immense spirit and strength of character to win despite really great odds and underdog status.
Durban fans, you have my eternal gratitude for the hero’s welcome given to the boys on arrival in Durban on Sunday.
A very special thank you to the truly awesome coaching team made up of Brendan, Brad, and Sean. Your combined knowledge and expertise has allowed the boys to play with great confidence, commitment and intensity. I have always gone on record saying that I believe that we have everything necessary as a team to reach for the stars and make dreams come true. The journey from Good to Great has been truly life changing. The Sharks Rock!!
- Dawn Dunn
- Twitter: @DawnDunnRugby