VIDEO: 'Serious consequences' after Sharks' second-half implosion
There will be some ‘serious consequences’ for the Sharks, players and coaches, after a spectacular second-half implosion in Kimberley at the weekend.
Griquas produced one of the most remarkable comebacks to record a bonus-point 48-40 Currie Cup Round Two win over the Sharks.
Trailing by 18 points at half-time, the home team scored 38 unanswered points (five tries and a penalty) in a scintillating display of attacking rugby to claim an unassailable 20-point lead with five minutes remaining.
Two late scores were nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
Sharks coach Joey Mongalo said conceding 38 points in the second half means there is something “deeply wrong”.
“It is my job to figure out what that is,” he said, adding: “There have to be consequences.
“We can’t say we are proud to play for the Sharks and then produce what we did in the 30 minutes after half-time
“That is unacceptable.”
He admitted that it was a masterstroke from Griquas who – after winning the toss – chose to play into a stiff breeze in the first half and use it to their advantage to turn the tide after the break, with veterans George Whitehead and Eddie Fouche dominating the game with their educated boots in the final quarter.
(Article continues below the Joey Mongalo interview …)
“In contrast, we [the Sharks] prefer to kick off No.9,” the coach said, adding: “To kick off No.9 into the wind is a difficult skill.
“Maybe, as a coaching staff, we could have changed our strategy, so I will take some blame for that.”
Mongalo said the costly blunders his team made after the break is something he will have to resolve ‘internally’ and do so urgently.
The new Currie Cup coach’s other big challenge is that he is set to lose a number of key players while the franchise’s premier team resumes the European commitments – acing Scarlets in a United Rugby Championship game in Llanelli on Saturday, followed by a European Cup Round of 16 home game against Munster on April 1, a possible Champions Cup quarterfinal a week later, followed by back-to-back URC encounters with Benetton and Munster in the Shark Tank.
“As good as the team is on paper, we need time to build cohesion in this group,” he told @rugby365com – adding that a ‘handful’ of players will join up with the team heading to Wales.
“If the selection at the top stays consistent, we’ll have these guys with us and that will give us time to build something.”
He said it appeared as if the guys did not have that desire to play for each other and some players chose a ‘soft way out’.
“It is my job to fix it, so that we never choose the soft way out again.”
Mongalo said that there were some ‘bruised egos’ in the dressing room in Kimberley, but no significant injuries.
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* Picture credit: @SharksRugby
