Sharks forced out of comfort zone
by Khanyiso Tshwaku,
2016-03-07 05:00:00.0
SHARKS director of rugby Gary Gold’s focus in his time with the franchise has moved from wanting to entertain to ensuring wins are accrued regardless of how they go about their business.
Their 19-15 win against the Jaguares at King’s Park was one such example as the Sharks were forced from their comfort zone and had to confront an opponent full of inventive running.
With the way the Super Rugby tournament is set up, the importance of beating a team in your conference was not lost on Gold.
"It’s important to beat the teams in our pool and it would have been a proper banana skin if we’d lost to a team in our pool. It’s a weird format because when you play in a competition where you play against everybody, each result has a knock-on effect. You get the points and they don’t," he said. "You don’t have that situation now and with the exception of three teams and while every win matters, it’s not a like-for-like arm wrestle where you neutralise each other."
The Lions, meanwhile, set an early template of how to beat New Zealand teams with their 36-32 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
The Sharks’ first duel with the Lions is on April 9 at King’s Park, but Gold has taken notes on how Johan Ackermann’s side got the better of Dave Rennie’s side with their balanced approach.
Last season, the Sharks won only one out of their four clashes against New Zealand outfits. They also copped two 45-plus point hidings from the Highlanders and the Crusaders.
In those two games, they were unable to keep up with the tempo and they were found wanting defensively.
While the Jaguares are not as refined as the New Zealand teams, Gold felt the South Americans gave them a dry run of what to expect from them.
The Jaguares were standoffish when it came to dealing with mauls and scrums, something the Sharks should expect if what the Chiefs did against the Lions is anything to go by.
"Where these guys were lethal was when they turned the ball over. They’ll go the length of the field. It was a good test out there because there are Kiwi teams in our group and this game was a good exercise in terms of how we have to deal with them," Gold said.
"We saw how hard we’ll have to work in terms of the off-loading game, catching up on the inside and our work-rate off the ball."
Stephan Lewies of the Sharks outjumps Leonardo Senatore of the
J a g u a res. Picture: GALLO IMAGES
SHARKS director of rugby Gary Gold’s focus in his time with the franchise has moved from wanting to entertain to ensuring wins are accrued regardless of how they go about their business.
Their 19-15 win against the Jaguares at King’s Park was one such example as the Sharks were forced from their comfort zone and had to confront an opponent full of inventive running.
With the way the Super Rugby tournament is set up, the importance of beating a team in your conference was not lost on Gold.
"It’s important to beat the teams in our pool and it would have been a proper banana skin if we’d lost to a team in our pool. It’s a weird format because when you play in a competition where you play against everybody, each result has a knock-on effect. You get the points and they don’t," he said. "You don’t have that situation now and with the exception of three teams and while every win matters, it’s not a like-for-like arm wrestle where you neutralise each other."
The Lions, meanwhile, set an early template of how to beat New Zealand teams with their 36-32 win over the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday.
The Sharks’ first duel with the Lions is on April 9 at King’s Park, but Gold has taken notes on how Johan Ackermann’s side got the better of Dave Rennie’s side with their balanced approach.
Last season, the Sharks won only one out of their four clashes against New Zealand outfits. They also copped two 45-plus point hidings from the Highlanders and the Crusaders.
In those two games, they were unable to keep up with the tempo and they were found wanting defensively.
While the Jaguares are not as refined as the New Zealand teams, Gold felt the South Americans gave them a dry run of what to expect from them.
The Jaguares were standoffish when it came to dealing with mauls and scrums, something the Sharks should expect if what the Chiefs did against the Lions is anything to go by.
"Where these guys were lethal was when they turned the ball over. They’ll go the length of the field. It was a good test out there because there are Kiwi teams in our group and this game was a good exercise in terms of how we have to deal with them," Gold said.
"We saw how hard we’ll have to work in terms of the off-loading game, catching up on the inside and our work-rate off the ball."
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