Durban – While there are certain areas to continue working on, the Sharks are pleased that certain aspects of their game are starting to come together, as evidenced in their second half performance against the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth last Saturday.<\/p>\n
It was a game of two halves, but after a difficult first 40 minutes, the Sharks showed their potential in the second half to wrest control of the game and ultimately win 24-20.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough and they came at us, but we did have the lion\u2019s share of possession and territory,\u201d forwards coach Ryan Strudwick told Sharks website<\/strong> editor Michael Marnewick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the little mistakes are costing us in the end, we\u2019re getting the ball through the phases but it\u2019s that last pass or taking the ball too high – those things are stopping our momentum.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we are progressing, it\u2019s getting better and better each week.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a noticeable second half improvement in the Sharks\u2019 scrumming and they started to get gains as they were able to turn good scrum ball into good attacking ball.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of our plan was bringing Thomas du Toit on because we knew he would have fresh legs and that worked out quite nicely for us,\u201d Strudwick explained. \u201cWe are also blooding Thomas, I know we want to develop him as a tighthead and although we brought him on at loosehead, we are going to blood him at tighthead.\u201d<\/p>\n One area that the Sharks are really performing well in is at the other important set-piece – lineouts. Penalties were kicked to touch with some valuable gains when they mauled the ball up after successfully securing lineout ball.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are happy with our own lineout, it\u2019s working and improving and we are getting a lot of ball. I also thought we really destroyed their lineout, they didn\u2019t get to play much off theirs because we really contested well. But again, it\u2019s something we are working very hard on and we\u2019re improving week in and week out. We just need to keep those standards up.\u201d<\/p>\n Talking high standards, Strudwick agrees that the young forwards are really stepping up and giving pleasing performances.<\/p>\n \u201cThe youngsters are settling down now and the nerves from the first few weeks are gone. They\u2019ve settled into the team now, there is more stability and they are starting to perform; we know they are quality, it\u2019s just a matter of them reaching full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead to Saturday\u2019s match against the Pumas in Durban, he warns that they are a tough side to beat.<\/p>\n \u201cThey did lose on the weekend, but we know what they\u2019re all about, it will be hard for us. We owe them one and the motivation is there for us to play, and we are at home.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have to play to our full potential but fortunately the guys are building their confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: Sport24<\/a><\/p>\n