Sharks thankful for bye week

The Sharks managed to hold on for a bruising 18-13 victory over the Jaguares at Growthpoint Kings Park on Saturday. It was far from good to watch as both teams struggled to find continuity in the humid conditions. The match was a stop-start, error strewn affair that could have gone either way.

Fortunately the Sharks made better use of their opportunities and ground out an important victory which saw them move back into second place in the second African conference. That puts them back into a playoff spot.

The victory didn’t come easy as the teams battled it out in trench-warfare style. Sharks coach Rob du Preez was expecting it to go that way and he was relieved to come away with a win over a side that is predominantly made up of Argentina internationals.

“It was as tough as we expected it to be. They are a very difficult side to play against, it’s a full Test team so I am very proud of that win, it was a fantastic win,” the Sharks coach said after the game.

“It is a team with lots of character but it was really difficult because the ball was very slippery. Especially in those last 20 minutes, we couldn’t play the way we wanted to.”

Du Preez’ comments mirrored the performance which was highly frustrating to watch. Both teams made numerous handling errors and the game was constantly restarting.

With conditions difficult, both teams kept things tight which led to some brutal collisions in the contact. Neither team really got the upper hand and that made life difficult for Sharks flyhalf Inny Radebe, who made his first Super Rugby start after Garth April was ruled out the day before the game.

Du Preez was cognisant of the difficult conditions and had plenty of empathy for the young flyhalf’s performance, which really was under the microscope.

“I thought he did really well, he came through that game. He would have learned a lot from this game, it was really tough because he didn’t really get ball on the front foot. He’ll just get better,” Du Preez said.

Judging by the physicality of the clash, there will certainly be some sore bodies this week. Luckily the players have the week off and Du Preez said it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“These seven games have been really tough and especially with the 13 guys that went to the Springbok camp on Monday and Tuesday as well. They had a tough work out there and we only really had one day of preparation for the Jaguares. I think the boys are really looking forward to the break,” the coach said.

It also helps to have grabbed that win before the bye to get back into the playoff places.

“That was a really important win, we were hoping for five points but maybe that was wishful thinking.”

The Sharks next match is at home against the Rebels on April 22.