The Cell C Sharks have taken a lot of heart out of their 25-10 Vodacom United Rugby Championship victory over Ospreys at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday evening.
It was a case of wearing down the opposition in a physically dominating performance in a tight first half, and then running away with the win later in the game.
Reflecting on the victory, Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell admitted that, “It was not an easy week and we knew that this game wouldn’t be easy because of that, as well as the fact that it was a short week. We played on Sunday, had to get the guys recovered and train for a Friday night game, so a short turn around also made it difficult.
“So it was a tough week, but a much-needed result for us looking forward to the next few weeks and what we want to achieve. We took a bit of confidence and a good result from this game.”
In terms of the performance, Powell admitted that, “Everyone who knows me, knows that it’s not just about the result for me, it’s also the way we play, the effort we put in and how we execute the plan, and how we we do in our individual roles and responsibilities.
“I think we can definitely make a step up there. But there was some good effort, some dominance – especially in the first half – where we had scrum dominance. There were lots of positives, but there are also things that we can do a lot better and make sure we get it right for next weekend.”
In the latter parts of the game, the Cell C Sharks took the result away, but it was more about what that renewed vigour and success delivers in the bigger scheme.
“It’s about taking small steps forward and confidence has a big part to play, so hopefully we can build on this foundation in terms of the confidence and momentum we got towards the end of the game,” Powell admitted.
He added that the role, availability and effort of the returning Springboks is a major boost for his side.
“It’s always good to get those big names back, one of the factors that might have contributed to the stop start nature and too many mistakes was the fact that there were a lot of changes to the side and we all know that when you make so many changes to a team, they might not have the synergy you want.
“Going into this week, we’ll try to keep the changes to a minimum and make sure we take the flow and momentum into this week and then the weekend.”
Returning from injury, there was a master class from flyhalf and Vodacom Man of the Match Curwin Bosch which Powell felt played a crucial role, not only in the result but for the player himself.
“You could see that Curwin hadn’t played in a while, perhaps a bit rusty in that first half, but his confidence grew as the match went on and it showed. It’s great to have him back after a long injury and hopefully he will just build on that performance and fire on all cylinders this weekend.”
The URC takes a short breather as the Heineken Champions Cup kicks off this weekend, with the Cell C Sharks hosting English club side Harlequins at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off) in their first appearance in the competition.
“We’re looking forward to this, a totally different level, somewhere between URC and test match rugby and everyone is really excited to get stuck in. It’s going to be a tough challenge, Harlequins are a quality side who play a good brand of rugby, but it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”
