Drotské laments leaky defence
Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské lamented his team’s poor defence following their 26-50 defeat to the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Drotské watched in frustration as his side leaked seven tries and slip one position from third to fourth on the log.
Drotské said it was an uncharacteristic defensive display and hoped it was just a one-off blip from his side.
“To concede seven tries wasn't up to scratch, especially for a side that had conceded the least number of tries in the competition before this, so we need to work on that,” he said.
Drotské conceded that the Bloemfontein side 'didn't pitch up' at Kings Park.
“We started poorly by giving away two soft tries and once you have to play catch-up rugby from there, especially away from home, it's always going to be tough,” he said.
“But credit to the Sharks, they were really physical on defence and they really gave us a lot of problems at the breakdown. They were full value for the win.”
Drotské insisted, however, that the heavy defeat did not weaken his charges’ confidence of reaching the semifinals.
“I'm still confident we will make the play-offs,” he said.
“We have three games to go, two in Bloemfontein and one in Kimberley. Once you get into the play-offs anything can happen.”
Captain Johannes Prinsloo said they allowed the free-running Sharks too much possession and can’t afford another loss.
“From the beginning, we didn’t have any ball and all credit to the Sharks, they really played well tonight.
“We’re going to have to watch the video and we have to get motivated for the next game. The competition isn’t over for us but it was disappointing from our team.
“It’s going to be another tough one against Province at home but we have to take this one. We have to win [all] our games for the rest of the tournament,” said Prinsloo.
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