Cell C Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell, reflecting on his team’s outstanding 47-20 victory over the Vodacom Bulls in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on New Year’s Eve, paid tribute to the way his team fought back and took control of the game to emerge deserved victors.
“We weren’t clinical enough in the first 15 or 20 minutes of the game, particularly with our exits and conceding penalties that allowed the Bulls to get points on the board,” he explained.
The Bulls had taken an early lead after scoring the first try of the game, but once the Cell C Sharks had settled into their rhythm, the momentum swung back into their favour, an advantage they never relinquished.
“We’ll look at ourselves, especially around that period of time in the game when we did things that are out of character and got penalised for them,” Powell added. “But it was definitely a step-up in the last 10 minutes of the first half when we were a lot more clinical and played in the right areas of the field.
“Our pack definitely did the job for us and a lot of credit must go to the forwards for the way they scrummed and mauled the Bulls.”
Setting a platform is vital to be successful in rugby, but it’s up to the finishers in the backline to capitalise on the forwards’ hard work and Powell admitted that the centre pairing of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Lukhanyo Am certainly added firepower in the midfield.
“They’ve had two good performances in a row, they’re starting to find each other and feed off one another, but with a competition this long with so many matches in a season, you have to manage your squad well to have them fresh and ready when you get to the knock-out stages. Squad rotation is going to be really crucial and we’re fortunate to have four to five really good centres.”
Powell admitted that it was a very satisfying victory, particularly in the grand scheme of things.
“It was a big win, especially if you look at the log; we needed these five points. It was important that we won, especially as it was a home game, we want to win all our home games.
“This is a sign of a team playing with confidence, not being predictable either. We could have managed the game a lot better in the early parts and played with more discipline, but when we got into the Bulls’ half, especially during the last 10 minutes of the first half, the guys really played well.
“Hopefully as the season progresses, we can put a performance like that together for 80 minutes and not just for a part of the game. We will look to get more consistency right through the game rather than playing good rugby at times.”
For now, the Cell C Sharks are well-placed with two games in hand still, having won five matches on the trot, three of them in the URC. But there is also a balancing act with player resources, getting the best out of everyone but not overplaying anyone.
“We will have to manage the team and individuals through this period, although we do have all our Springboks available for the Heineken Champions Cup games which is a bonus, and then when they’re away, it’s a great opportunity for the other guys in the squad to show that they can play at this level.
“There’s healthy internal competition in the squad which is exactly what we want, we want to see the guys pushing hard for positions in the team because that lifts the standards in the whole squad.”
