The Cell C Sharks went down 46-19 to the DHL Stormers in their round one Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday afternoon.
The DHL Stormers took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Cell C Sharks and scored three converted tries and a converted penalty to lead 24-00 at 30 minutes of play.
Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby, Neil Powell defended the team's consistency since taking charge as head coach, saying the derby loss was the ‘exception’ rather than the standard.
“In our last few games, we have been really consistent. This was probably the first one where I felt we were really not up for it, even in the Harlequins game I felt we put in a good effort. This was the exception for me in terms of effort and what we wanted to do."
“Consistency is always tough, but there are no excuses. If we want to be a champion team, we have to get ourselves up for every game and make sure we are mentally prepared for whatever the opposition is doing.”
Powell was confident that there are still enough games for the Cell C Sharks to secure a playoff place.
“We’ve still got six or seven games left. We are only halfway through the season. There are still a lot of games to play. I do believe that we can still make the knockout stages.”
