Sharks defence better says Everitt
Cell C Sharks assistant coach, Sean Everitt, has chatted to the media after their loss to the Golden Lions in Johannesburg this past weekend.
General thoughts on Sharks play in Johannesburg
Our defence has improved a lot although we're still not putting together an 80-minute performance and that is costing us. The team is certainly making progress, but to get the result we need to play for the full 80. There are definite improvements in individual performances, there is a lot of energy and fight on the field which we saw against the Lions when we came back from 26-6 down to score 12 unanswered points through two very good tries. This team wants to do well, they are trying and we have to keep fighting.
This week we play the Bulls which is another big challenge, but we love playing them. We know what's coming from them, but we need to be up for the full 80 to get the result.
Improvements at set-piece this past weekend
At times over the season we've struggled with our set-piece, but it was really, really good on Saturday. We scrummed them off the ball at one stage and they are the most feared scrum in the competition, so that's a massive positive to take out of the game. Our lineout was brilliant, so our set-piece functioned really well.
Eliminating errors made by your team
We're working hard on those things at training, the individuals want to improve their skill-set and no-one makes mistakes on purpose. It's probably more of a concentration thing, we need to make sure we improve week by week - which we are doing.
Blue Bulls challenge this Friday night
The Bulls are one of the form teams, but after losing their last two matches, will be desperate to get a win and get their campaign back on track.
Pressure to perform at home this week
We had two negative results at home and would like to turn that around, we're a proud team and the character and energy we've played with over the last few weeks shows what this team is made of. We want to turn it around, we want to get a win this weekend and we'll be giving everything.
Continuity in player selection at the Sharks
The front row has been together for a few weeks and our two props - Gerhard Engelbrecht and Thomas du Toit - have come through nicely. Jean-Luc du Preez is really playing well at the moment along with the likes of Francois Kleinhans and Philip van der Walt - who has been outstanding every time he has put on a Sharks jersey - while Andre Esterhuizen and Paul Jordaan have grown each week as a centre pairing and becoming a threat on attack as well as defence. There are a lot of positives for us, we just need to make sure we step up on the weekend.
Kickoff in Durban on Friday night is at 20h00 (8pm).
(File Photo: Andre Bloem)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre
Facebook - ECRSportswave
Our defence has improved a lot although we're still not putting together an 80-minute performance and that is costing us. The team is certainly making progress, but to get the result we need to play for the full 80. There are definite improvements in individual performances, there is a lot of energy and fight on the field which we saw against the Lions when we came back from 26-6 down to score 12 unanswered points through two very good tries. This team wants to do well, they are trying and we have to keep fighting.
This week we play the Bulls which is another big challenge, but we love playing them. We know what's coming from them, but we need to be up for the full 80 to get the result.
Improvements at set-piece this past weekend
At times over the season we've struggled with our set-piece, but it was really, really good on Saturday. We scrummed them off the ball at one stage and they are the most feared scrum in the competition, so that's a massive positive to take out of the game. Our lineout was brilliant, so our set-piece functioned really well.
Eliminating errors made by your team
We're working hard on those things at training, the individuals want to improve their skill-set and no-one makes mistakes on purpose. It's probably more of a concentration thing, we need to make sure we improve week by week - which we are doing.
Blue Bulls challenge this Friday night
The Bulls are one of the form teams, but after losing their last two matches, will be desperate to get a win and get their campaign back on track.
Pressure to perform at home this week
We had two negative results at home and would like to turn that around, we're a proud team and the character and energy we've played with over the last few weeks shows what this team is made of. We want to turn it around, we want to get a win this weekend and we'll be giving everything.
Continuity in player selection at the Sharks
The front row has been together for a few weeks and our two props - Gerhard Engelbrecht and Thomas du Toit - have come through nicely. Jean-Luc du Preez is really playing well at the moment along with the likes of Francois Kleinhans and Philip van der Walt - who has been outstanding every time he has put on a Sharks jersey - while Andre Esterhuizen and Paul Jordaan have grown each week as a centre pairing and becoming a threat on attack as well as defence. There are a lot of positives for us, we just need to make sure we step up on the weekend.
Kickoff in Durban on Friday night is at 20h00 (8pm).
(File Photo: Andre Bloem)
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre
Facebook - ECRSportswave