Pietersen on returning Boks: 'I don't see them as Springboks'
REACTION: Sharks head coach shared his thoughts on the performance of the returning Springboks following his side’s 26-20 victory over defending United Rugby Championship holders Leinster.
The Sharks top the log after two rounds of the URC following bonus-point wins over Ospreys and Leinster.
Pietersen named returning Springboks Edwill van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth and Thomas du Toit in his matchday squad, and they did not disappoint.
Du Toit was dominant in the scrums while Etzebeth created a try for Esterhuizen in tandem with Van der Merwe to put the Sharks ahead with 10 minutes left on the clock, and Van der Merwe raced away following an interception to record the four-try bonus point and put the Sharks in the clear moments later.
Pietersen was chuffed with their performances and credited the Sharks’ culture they created during pre-season for it.
“It’s all about players buying into the plan; we created a culture during pre-season where the players can be themselves and play the game they want to play,” he said.
“We all made a collective decision on our vision and goals we want, and you could see today that the buy-in from the players as a collective is one of a team that really wants to win.”
He added: “I was quite nervous before the game; we only had one training session with them [incoming Springboks] on Thursday.
“It just shows their eliteness and professionalism to learn quickly and get into the game – they never looked off.
“We needed an injection after Leinster scored; Eben [Etzebeth] was outstanding with that transition [play] try which Andre [Esterhuizen] scored and then Edwill [Van der Merwe] to finish it off with an intercept try; it just shows what they bring.
“For the rest of the group it’s all about doing the right things to make the system work, and the Boks just do their thing that they need to do.”
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JP Pietersen’s side off to a perfect start in the URC. 🦈💪https://t.co/3zcNaapTam
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Pietersen said that the Boks wanted to play against Leinster and described their willingness as something to treasure.
“For the Boks to come in and just be themselves, to not go overboard, for them to feel it’s their responsibility to help the Sharks.
“The 80 percent of the group that stayed behind created this platform for the Boks to be themselves and the best version of themselves and perform.
“It’s great to see when players want to play; I don’t see them as Springboks, I see them as Sharks players.
“They indicated before the Springboks’ Test against Australia that they want to come back and be part of it, and it showed today [Saturday].
“They’re elite players, and for them to get a taste of this today is something we must treasure.”
Touching on the game against Leinster, Pietersen conceded that it wasn’t the Irish outfit’s best matchday squad and that they’ll need to reset ahead of their coastal derby against the Stormers next weekend.
“We’ll take this win, and I’m a realist, that wasn’t Leinster’s cream of the crop, but they managed to put us under pressure.
“They’ve got a good system, coach and organisation; their players know what to do, and they know how to win as defending champions.
“For us as a group, we must just be present, take this win and regroup on Monday to see where we can get better.
“We’ve got another beast waiting for us in Cape Town on Saturday.”
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