Sharks yet to find their teeth
● The Sharks are going through a teething process that wouldn’t have been expected considering how well they played in Super Rugby before the Covid-19-enforced lockdown.
That they had to struggle to a 34-33 win against the Griquas in Kimberley on Friday showed that, but such performances from a young team can only make them better.
The emphasis on youth at Kings Park means nights like Friday’s examination, which they passed, will come thick and fast.
That they are able to have something to show for their efforts each week is testament to the team’s growth and adaptability.
There’s some good coaching taking place and while the results and the performances don’t always reflect that, there is something that Sean Everitt is doing right at Kings Park.
Everitt has been on the wrong side of results against the Griquas and when they were 27-13 down at the start of the last quarter, the Sharks were staring at a second Super Rugby Unlocked defeat.
One of the lessons the Sharks will have to learn the hard way is game management.
The fact his team were able to remain calm when they gave away an 80th-minute penalty to trail 33-31, only for Curwin Bosch to rescue that with a long-range penalty, spoke volumes of their evolution.
“It shows that when the guys stick to the plan, there’s a lot of calm within this group and they’re certainly a team with character. We managed to get a smart penalty in the 83rd minute and there was Curwin’s bigmatch temperament to kick the penalty to win the game,” Everitt said.
Bosch’s evolution as a match-winner and leader at the Sharks cannot be overstated. His kicking and his match management has been the difference.
Without him, the Sharks’ Super Rugby Unlocked report card would have read: Played: five; won: two; lost: three.
At the time of going to print, they were sitting pretty in second with 17 points, two points behind the all-conquering Bulls, who were off this weekend.
It’s a pity there’s no Springbok shootout because Bosch’s form, allied with Elton Jantjies’s excellence at the Lions, would have given the Springbok coaching think-tank plenty to ponder.