The Sharks defeated Clermont Auvergne with a commanding 50-12 score in their Investec Champions Cup pool clash at Kings Park on Saturday. The Sharks scored 36 unanswered points in the second half, demonstrating a "killer instinct" that coach JP Pietersen has been trying to foster in the team
The win temporarily lifted the Sharks to fourth in their pool, keeping their playoff hopes alive, though their ultimate qualification depended on the outcome of a later match between Toulouse and Sale Sharks.
The match was a tale of two halves. After a tight first half that ended with the Sharks leading just 14-12, the hosts were ruthless in the second period, ultimately scoring eight tries in total to secure a crucial bonus-point victory.
“The message this week was very clear: we wanted to win first. Everything else would take care of itself after that.”
“I thought the starting team did their job, and a lot of that comes down to the tempo we played at and our accuracy. If you put teams under pressure like that, they’re going to give away penalties.”
Pietersen highlighted the team's ability to put their opponent away in the final 10 to 15 minutes, something they had "struggled with in the past".
“What was really good to see today is that we put a team away. That’s something we’ve struggled with in the past, winning games but not finishing them off. Today, in the last 10 or 15 minutes, we were ruthless, and that’s something we want to keep building on.”
Acknowledging that Clermont sent a second-string side, the coach still insisted the performance provided valuable confidence and belief in the team's game model.
“This was a good confidence game for us. It gave us the belief that our game model works. As a coaching staff, we still need to review honestly and look at how we can get better, because at the next level you’re playing a different class of team.”
