SupeRugby harsh says Steyn

Angus Gardner will be the referee.

Frans Steyn has retained the number 12 jersey for the action in Brisbane.

Steyn spoke to the media earlier today and below is the interview.

Feeling in the camp about a game that could have been won

We could have won, it was the same against the Hurricanes where we had our opportunities, but it just feels like the ball is not bouncing our way at this stage. We are working hard, there isn’t a lot more we can do aside from trying our best and working harder every week and hopefully it will all fall into place for us.

Perhaps the players are trying to force things in an attempt to fix them

No, we made two silly mistakes and that led to two easy tries scored against us, those are mistakes that can happen to anyone. Further than that, I don’t think we made many stupid errors. Yes, we did make errors, but no team goes through a rugby game without mistakes and I thought we played really well. There were a few things that didn’t go our way and that just frustrated everyone on the pitch. It was tough.

What is the team using for motivation

It’s difficult. For me personally, I thought over the last few weeks we really tried our best, we played the best rugby we have this season, where the wings get the ball and we score tries. But I feel it’s worse when you lose like that; people say if you lose but you played well, it’s OK. I don’t see it like that. When you lose after a poor performance, you know there are things you can work on and fix, but if you really try your best and you still come up short, things don’t go your way, then your confidence really takes a hit. In terms of negativity, I think we’ve been quite good about that and that is due to us being a tight unit.

Are you on the right track - the last two performances suggest it

We’re really trying hard. If you look back at the Lions season a couple of years ago, they would lose by one or two points and SupeRugby is a harsh environment and losing can happen so quickly. You look at our game against the Highlanders, you make two or three mistakes and they’re such a good attacking team that before you know it, they’ve scored two or three easy tries. It was the same on the weekend against the Waratahs, we made two mistakes and they scored two tries. The Hurricanes had to work hard for their tries because we didn’t just gift them anything.

Your thoughts on the Reds

They’ve gone through the same thing. They’re also working hard and their season has turned around, they got it right eventually. We’re still searching for that. They will be the favourites going into the game because they played one heck of a game on the weekend and we’re still struggling a bit. But we don’t want to end off this tour without a win, we want to win this one.

How is the team doing right now

This is not the season we planned for as a team, we really wanted to do well and it hasn’t turned out that way. For me personally, this is one of the toughest seasons I have ever had at the Sharks and it’s something that bothers you when you lie awake at night, especially because of how proud we are to play for this team.

(File Photo: Gallo Images)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre @skytshabalala