Engledow: Griquas need to work on conditioning
The winless Kimberley-based team is looking to get their season on track third-round match against the Sharks in Durban on Friday.
Griquas head into the game against the Sharks after conceding seven tries to five, en route to a 43-48 defeat against the Golden Lions in a Round Two match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg at the weekend.
The defeat was the Griquas second successive loss – after being outscored by six tries to five in a 45-51 loss yo the Blue Bulls in Kimberley on July 22.
The Griquas have scored 11 tries in their opening two games of the season.
However, their defence has been their major weakness – having conceded 13 tries in the two outings.
Engledow told reporters after the game on Saturday that the Griquas will focus on their conditioning and making sure that the players lift their intensity and the pace of their game in preparation for battle against the Sharks on Friday.
"There's some key areas we have to address in our defensive structures," Engledow said.
"The ability to get back on your feet and get back into the line and we a bit too slow in this competition.
"We got to work harder on our defence, at the moment the attacks going well, but we got to fix what's not going well.
"Our conditioning, it's a tougher competition, it's a lot more demanding, but we got to be able to play at a tempo," Engledow said.
The Griquas will be sweating on the availability of in-form scrumhalf Christiaan Meyer – who scored two tries against the Golden Lions.
Engledow said that Meyer suffered an injury during the game against the Golden Lions on Saturday and he will be assessed on Monday.
"Unfortunately he [Christiaan Meyer] is now injured.
"We just have to assess that tomorrow and see how he is next week, but his done very well for us."
By Josh Isaacson, at Ellis Park
@isaacson_j
@rugby365com
