Following his team’s 45-point demolition of visiting Irish side Munster in a cracker of a Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday, head coach JP Pietersen declared himself thrilled with his team’s performance, despite a couple of sleepless nights beforehand.
“To win 45-nil against a good and proud Munster side with a rich history is a memory I’ll cherish for life. Luan Giliomee playing his first game, Makazole Mapimpi playing in his 100th game, it was beautiful how it worked out for them both on the same day.”
Despite the disruptions to the teams’ preparations, with Ethan Hooker pulling out on family reasons and Siya Kolisi pulling his calf, the side pulled together and showed just what they are capable of.
“It was a challenging couple of nights before the game,” Pietersen admitted. “I hardly slept, so to get a performance like that is something very special.”
Scoring 45 points in a game is one thing, but keeping your opponents scoreless is quite something else.
“If you compare this to the Loftus game, it was day and night. I challenged the players to bring the effort. They did that and credit to coach Joey Mongalo, who puts hours and hours of effort in; he’s a good defence coach.
“The players can only show how good he is if they buy into his methods. I challenged them before the game to show how physical they could be, and they showed that. You could see afterwards that the boys were out on their feet, but that showed pride in the badge and how badly they wanted to prove a point.
“To not concede a try is really special, especially in a VURC game.”