Redemption time at the Shark Tank
After receiving a rugby lesson on Saturday from the Brumbies, Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford says the team is hoping to restore calm to Kings Park when they play the Rebels this weekend.
The Sharks have had a successful, albeit slow, start to the season and Bashford explained that they are searching for that one special performance that will kick-start their season.
"What we’re after is a performance that we can be proud of," he said.
The team from Durban were dismantled by a hugely impressive Brumbies side in the first 25 minutes of the game, and by then the damage was done.
"It’s not nice to lose like that, not just the loss itself but the fact that the game was over in pretty much the first 25 minutes.
"There is huge disappointment with the intensity of everything we did in that 25 minute period, we just weren’t good enough," the assistant said.
Bashford was the first person to admit that the Sharks were out-done by a technically superior and more motivated Brumbies side.
"We were simply out-played and out-thought in almost every aspect of the game and that’s the hard bit."
The Sharks managed to rein the Brumbies in during the second-half but it was not enough and the Brumbies were too far ahead for them to rescue anything from the game.
"It was a bad 40 minute performance from us although we won the second half seven points to three, so what transpired in the second half was different to the first half, and that is what we’ve addressed.
"We know if we play well, get our attitude right and come out and play with the commitment we need to win every game, we can do that," Bashford added.
Bashford acknowledges that it was a hugely disappointing day for the Sharks but knows that it is how the side reacts to this defeat that shows their character.
"It’s how we come back from it that matters.
"We can’t change what’s happened but we can change what’s coming," Bashford mentioned.
The Rebels travel to Durban this weekend for their clash and they have not had a great start to their season but the Sharks are not letting this fool them.
They will not take the Rebels lightly and Bashford knows what the side has to do to deal with the Melbourne based outfit.
"We know what the Rebels are going to bring, we’ve had a look at them and it’s about making sure we sort out the areas that we need to and making sure we prepare really well for them."
The beauty of Super Rugby is that if a team does lose a game there is enough time to make up for it and Bashford and the Sharks are aware of the learning curve that last weekend would have provided them.
"You learn a lot from a loss, more than from a win and for us, it’s about regrouping and getting over this weekend pretty quickly because there is an opportunity to fix it this Saturday."
The confidence is still there for the Sharks and the team and coaching staff believe that they will be able to make it right.
"We’re pretty confident that if we get it right with this group of players, we can beat anyone if we play well."
