Midway through the SA Rugby Under 21 Cup, the Hollywoodbets Sharks Under 21s are tracking along wonderfully, sitting second on the log ahead of the second round of matches. After a really good first round where the team lost their opening game but won the next four, they now take an extensive break until the start of the second round at the end of August.
“We started the comp off a bit slowly, we were probably one warm-up game short in terms of prepping, and we felt it against Western Province where they were a bit more kind-of battle-hardened, a bit more physical than us,” explained coach Mike Vowles.
“But it gave us an opportunity to get a really good assessment as to where we were and I was really proud of how the group responded because we were like 30 points down going into the second half and then we scored 30-odd points and only conceded another three, so it was really a game of two halves.
“The character we showed to turn it around in that last 40 was something very special, and we’ve used that to build a bit of momentum.”
After losing 43-31 in the opening round, the team kicked off a run of four consecutive wins, the first a really good performance against Free State, “where we were able to get into our groove and get our game going; you could see there was a level of confidence,” as they went on to defeat the central union team 59-29 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
They then went on to beat the Bulls at home (33-14) and the Lions away (47-36) before demolishing the Leopards 80-38 in their final pool game.
Looking back at their successes, Vowles complimented the performances of his players who really stepped up to the plate.
“We were fortunate to have some of the SA Under 20 guys join us for one or two games from their camp and that strengthened us and gave us some depth. They came back and were really good for us, adding value both on and off the field in terms of their experience from the SA Under-20 exposure.
“Since then, we’ve had guys actually called up into the SA Under 20 mix who were outside of the initial squad, and that’s testimony to the performances they put in and to where the team got to, which was very pleasing.”
He also identified the platform laid right from the start that prepared minds and bodies for the arduous task that lay ahead of them.
“I think a lot of our success in this first half of the comp comes from our preseason when we spoke a lot about team culture, our values, our identity and where we want to go as a group, and I think we got good buy-in from the team. So there was some higher purpose, a bit more to play for than just rugby.
“We worked the guys incredibly hard during that preseason, and I think from that we built resilience, some belief and then coupled that with really clear identity and some values and what we stood for. That set us up really nicely to perform.”
But, as Vowles warns, the job is not yet done. The SA Rugby Under 21 Cup is only halfway through, and there can be no resting on laurels, not when they have such bright ambitions.
“It’s been an enjoyable campaign, but there are no illusions about the task ahead; we’re not done yet. We’ve gotten through the first round and are sitting second on the log, but there’s a whole second round to get through.
“We’ve certainly set ourselves up for a positive start and we’re just hoping we can build on that to secure a home semi.”