Sharks coach JP Pietersen praised his team's physical performance, leadership, and ability to "stay in the fight" during their first-ever URC victory at DHL Stadium.
Pietersen singled out captain Andre Esterhuizen for his leadership and physical dominance, stating that "when he plays well, the team plays well".
“I think Andre’s been leading well. He challenges the group, and you can see when he plays well, the team plays well, and I just love the way he carries the team.”
“He’s an old Shark boy, knows Durban inside out, lives and breathes Durban. His actions say a lot more than his words.”
He also challenged young players Phatu Ganyane and Nick Hatton, who "delivered" against their experienced rivals.
“If you look at the game of Phatu, if he were on the bench, he would probably have played 10 minutes max. I asked Phatu and Nick Hatton in the week: ‘Can you challenge yourself against a Neethling who is a Springbok?’ I told Phatu he was going to play for 30 minutes and asked if he could give it all for that time and challenge himself against the best team in the URC. Can you challenge yourself to compete? Because we want to see as coaches if you can do it.”
“The same for Nick Hatton against Paul de Villiers and them, I asked if he could put his hand up and compete, because we’ve got good loosies.”
“I know what I’ve got in the Boks. I know what I’ve got in Vincent Tshituka, in Phepsi, I know what I’ve got in Siya Kolisi. I just need to find out with Nick Hatton and Phatu if they can compete and fight for the minutes they get. It’s a massive confidence boost for us going forward that the guys are putting their hands up.”
He was pleased that the team executed their plan to target the Stormers' set piece and capitalise on opportunities.
“We executed our plan well, but sometimes we also failed to do so; that is part of the game,” Pietersen said.
Pietersen highlighted the team's ability to scramble on defence and show "fight" when things didn't go according to plan. He noted that South African derbies are physical and hard, and his side managed the challenge well.
“What I liked from the boys is that whenever we got things wrong, they showed some fight and scrambled well on the defence to get the ball back. Credit to the players for staying in the fight. The key was our fast start, and we put them under pressure from the start of both halves.”
He described the win as a massive confidence boost, providing belief that the team's game model works and that they can compete against top teams like the Stormers, who were previously unbeaten in the season.
Despite the win, Pietersen noted the physical cost, with all three loose forwards (Manu Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi, and Siya Kolisi) leaving the pitch injured, humorously wondering if he had any players left.