Gold content with Sharks preseason
Cell C Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold is confident that lessons learned last year have put his side in a good position going into the 2016 Super Rugby competition.
But a minor exodus of some long-serving players at the end of 2015 has opened the door for younger players to step up to the plate and Gold sounded confident that ample preparations have been made for the upcoming season.
“It’s been a wonderful preseason after the disappointment and shake-up after the Currie Cup. There was a lot of introspection and we needed to do that. We needed to assess the whole year, our frailties and shortcomings and I think we’ve done that objectively,” Gold said earlier this week.
“It hasn’t been easy, but as they say, if you keep doing the same thing and hope for a different result you could be slightly insane. We’ve changed that and just knuckled down and got on with the hard work and we’re really excited with how it’s gone.
“It’s going to be a tough year, this new competition is going to have a lot more demand – I’m not sure people out there understand just how demanding it’s going to be. But we’ve gone into it with a fine tooth comb and hopefully we're preparing accordingly.”
Part of that preparation will include getting used to life without the likes of Willem Alberts, Frans Steyn, Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis and a couple of other players who have left the Shark Tank. Gold believes the youngsters in their squad will fill that void.
“I used the example the other day, I suppose it’s like a snake shedding its skin. It hasn’t died, it hasn’t gone away but it is a new chapter. For a lot of these guys, it’s going to be their first full season and proper experience of Super Rugby. But I think if you’re good enough you’re old enough and I think many of these guys are.”
Gold also believes Pat Lambie will provide a unique style of leadership to the side.
“With Patrick as our captain, it’s going to be a new voice, a new leadership style – one I am personally very excited about. The one thing that there is no doubt about is Patrick is a hugely respected man and speaks a huge amount of sense. I can say it because I know he won’t because he’s too humble, but I think the players love being led by him,” Gold said.
“Every day we continue to work hard, we just hopefully grow and become a tighter unit. I think the guys are probably tired of preseason now and just ready to get out on the field.”
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