'He can turn a game on its head'

REACTION: Sharks head coach Sean Everitt was proud of his speedsters in their United Rugby Championship Round 17 clash against Connacht on Saturday.

The Durban-based side completed their regular home fixtures in the tournament with a resounding 41-21 comeback win over the Irish outfit, after scoring 31 unanswered points in a brilliant second-half display.

The Sharks also booked their spot in the quarterfinals with that win.

Four of the Sharks’ five tries were scored by forwards, but Everitt had plenty of praise for fullback Aphelele Fassi who was lethal at the back.

The fullback produced some great running in the build-up to Marius Louw’s try shortly after the break, which sparked the comeback.

“People think that when you kick the ball away you are just kicking to the opposition, but if you kick it well, you get it back and you have a counter-attacking opportunity,” said Everitt.

“That’s when guys like Aphelele Fassi come into the game.

“He can turn the game on its head with good feet and pace and that is exactly what he did.

“He is really dangerous from the back and when you add the likes of a Makazole Mapimpi as well, we were able to turn it on there and I am just happy that the second 40 was better.

“A lot of people came out to watch us and we didn’t want to disappoint them.”

Messy first half

Everitt explained that his team struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, which allowed Connacht to get a comfortable lead at the break

“Things didn’t go our way in the first half and that was quite strange,” said the Sharks coach.

“Both teams gave away a lot of penalties, so there wasn’t much ball in play.

“The first 10 minutes were messy as well and there were errors on both sides.

“It was a difficult first 40 for the players to settle into because they couldn’t get into their rhythm. But at half-time, it gave us the opportunity to regroup.

“We spoke about what we needed to do, and we also spoke about actions being bigger than words.

“We had to go out and make it happen the way we had planned during the week.

“It was a pressure game for us, so I will give the players a bit of credit there.

“Maybe the occasion was quite big for them, but they certainly settled down well in the second half and got through with the job.”

@rugby365com