Sharks to stick with young guns
The Durban-based side backed their 33-10 victory over the Pumas in the opening round with a bonus point 46-24 win over Griquas on Friday, and coach Robert du Preez stated that they will remain patient with their younger players.
"We have to be patient with the inexperienced players like Curwin [Bosch] and Inny [Innocent Radebe]. It [the game against Griquas] was a good test for them and I know they will learn from the experience.
"They have the talent [to thrive] and we will persist with them because we understand that it will take time for them to fully settle themselves in. It is great to have that type of youth and exuberance in the setup," du Preez said.
Despite the result, du Preez felt his side strayed from the gam- plan and wants to get them to play the type of rugby the Sharks have been known for.
"The Sharks have been known for attacking rugby and we need to play with the ball in hand. I felt that we kicked away too much possession in situations where we should have kept it in hand, so that's a big concern for me.
"I would much rather have us dominate possession by keeping it in hand than have us being forced to defend for long periods. However, I am pleased with the progress we are making on attack but in saying that, I felt like there were at least another five tries that we left on the field.
"Our aim was to show improvement and I am not sure if we managed to achieve that goal, so there are lots to work on. Nevertheless, it was a good win and I'm happy that we managed to get the bonus point as well," he added.
Du Preez added that they have some defensive things to work on, although it's "not a train smash" at the moment.
"There were times when they had us [scrambling] on the outside and it's something we need to work on but right now, it's not a train smash. It will become a problem though if we leak soft tries against the bigger Unions," he stated.
