Griquas a threat says Strudwick

Kickoff in Kimberley is scheduled for 15h00 (3pm).

Cell C Sharks assistant coach, Ryan Strudwick, has spoken to the media today and his comments can be seen below.

Scrums

We're very pleased with the way our scrum has gone, particularly over the last two weeks. We've taken a step forward - which we always knew would happen, it was always a process. Obviously, that process was never going to happen overnight, it was always going to take time to get the scrum up to scratch and we're starting to reap the rewards of the hard work we're putting in.

A good effort against the Blue Bulls

Set-piece is traditionally their strength. We were happy, although our line-out was a bit disappointing, we missed a couple and they scored two soft tries, both of them from line-outs, and then we slipped up defensively at a line-out drive.

Griquas next on the menu

There is still a lot at stake for us. We need to pick up a win at least, but hopefully a bonus point as well. There is everything to play for, we're still in the running. It's going to be tough going to Kimberley, many teams have struggled there. We have stumbled there before, although admittedly it was at the beginning of the season and we feel we've matured enough this year, we've come along in this campaign. So we go up there with confidence and a nice blend of youth and experience. Griquas have blown hot and cold all season, and although they are bottom of the log, we know that every team in this competition - on any given day - is a credible threat, especially playing up in Kimberley which is a bit of a fortress for them. They have some quality players spread throughout their team, so they won't be a walk-over, we will have to really work hard. Their forwards are hard, they have some old, experienced campaigners and we know they will come at us physically, it's always a physical battle up there, and they have some lethal backs who like to throw the ball around. They have nothing to lose, nothing to play for, so we expect them to run everything at us.

Thoughts on the Sharks defence

Defensively we have come a long way, we have shown, over the last two or three weeks that our defence is improving on a weekly basis. It's just the odd individual error that's costing us, not the team defensive structure, but rather a missed tackle here and there that's letting us down.

Pressure on the Sharks right now

There is a lot of pressure on the players and we need to find the balance between confidence and not going into shells, where the fear of failure trumps the desire to succeed. That's the challenge for us as coaching staff to prevent that fear of failure and hopefully the players will express themselves and play with freedom, and hopefully chase those four tries.

Your views on Mzamo Majola

He came through really well. I've coached him at under/19 level and he's come through the system. We know he has potential and he's definitely one for the future.

(File Photo: Andre Bloem)

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