Sharks looking for 'cohesive' solution to Irish conundrum
REACTION: The Springbok-laden Sharks team will return from a disappointing United Rugby Championship trip to Wales in desperate need of a solution to their Irish conundrum.
Despite the return of a clutch of Springboks, the men from Durban failed to overcome lowly Welsh outfit Scarlets at the weekend.
That loss – while serving as a timely wake-up call – came ahead of the Sharks’ historic European Cup Last 16 home match against Munster in Durban this coming Saturday.
They will also meet Munster in a crucial Round 18 URC match at Kings Park next month.
Significantly, the Sharks have been unable to beat any Irish team this season – having lost to Ulster (24-31 in Durban), Connacht (12-24, at The Sportsground, in Galway) and Leinster (34-54, at the RDS Arena, in Dublin).
Sharks Director of Rugby Neil Powell did not hide his disappointment with the performance against Scarlets, given the number of World Cup-winning Springboks in his starting line-up in Llanelli at the weekend.
“It is a game in which we let ourselves down with ill-discipline,” the Sharks boss lamented the 12 penalties his team conceded at Parc Y Scarlets.
Add to that the 15 missed tackles and eight turnovers, and it becomes clear why Powell was grumpy.
“They scored both their tries off our mistakes,” he said, adding: “We were just not clinical or good enough in this game.”
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Sam Costelow kicked 22 points as the Scarlets kept alive their hopes of winning the Welsh Shield with an impressive 32-20 win over the full-strength Sharks team.
The four points secured just keep Scarlets in the Shield hunt, but they will have to rely on other results going in their favour if they are to secure a Champions Cup spot for next season.
Costelow succeeded with all eight attempts at goal as he landed six penalties and the conversions to a brace of tries from Steff Evans.
World Cup-winning Boks Siyamthanda Kolisi and Mbongeni Mbonambi scored tries for Sharks – with Curwin Bosch adding two conversions and two penalties.
Powell said there were too many “individualistic” performances – with some good efforts from the players, but simply not enough cohesion.
“We will have to come together as a team in the next three or four days and ensure we produce a ‘team performance’ against Munster,” he said of Saturday’s home game against the powerful Irish province.
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