Sharks showing attacking urgency
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After the catastrophe of the Crusaders match a fortnight ago, the Sharks had no choice but to step up their game, and coach Sean Everitt believes he is seeing a spark in their attack.
The match against the Lions started off at a frenetic pace last Saturday in Johannesburg, with both teams looking to use the ball in attack.
This was a far cry from two weeks ago for the Sharks, who were already 14 points down inside five minutes against the traveling Crusaders.
The Sharks may not have won the game, but it could be said that they won some of their fans back by at least showing signs of turning around their flailing season.
For assistant coach Sean Everitt, it was pleasing to note the urgency in his team's attack – something that has been missing since the Sharks last played the Lions in Durban (a four-try bonus point coming from that encounter in wet conditions).
"I think our attack was much more urgent," Everitt said of last weekends game.
"I thought we attacked really well and you’re able to have continuity when you’re not making handling errors.
"We cut down those errors quite a lot from the previous week against the Crusaders, when they capitalised on our mistakes.
"When you enjoy continuity, you’re able to wear the defences down and create opportunities for yourself.
"We would have liked to have seen one or two more line-breaks finished off, but we’ve been working very hard with that and our line-break percentage to completion has been very good."
A big talking point surrounding the Sharks at the moment is the lack of key Springboks, who find themselves absent through injury, rest and suspension.
In the Sharks' starting line-up on the weekend, only four players could define themselves as current Springboks (Cobus Reinach, Marcell Coetzee, Willem Alberts – who was a late call up – and Lwazi Mvovo).
The likes of super stars Bismarck du Plessis, Frans Steyn, Pat Lambie, Tendai Mtawarira, Jannie du Plessis and Pieter-Steph du Toit, as well as the suspended Jean Deysel, were all missing against a Lions team that proves big-name stars are not everything.
And for the Sharks it was a similar situation, as the youngsters in the squad, hungry to prove a point, stepped up and delivered a far more cohesive performance.
Everitt was pleased that the Sharks' squad system proved its self with the fringe players taking up the baton from senior leaders without much fuss.
"In a perfect world, everyone would like consistency in selection," Everitt continued.
"But our hand has been forced due to a number of reasons.
"It’s a good opportunity for the younger guys, who have been on the fringes of the squad, to get a chance.
"But at the same time, they have trained well together as a group."
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