Sharks coach believes they can turn Currie Cup campaign around

The Citizen

5 days ago

The Sharks are bottom of the log with -105 points difference, but JP Pietersen has hope they can still challenge some teams in the coming weeks.
Sharks coach JP Pietersen said the mood in the camp is not all doom and gloom, and they are still backing their youngsters to develop over the season, and potentially even turn their Currie Cup campaign around.
The Durban union, and defending champions, suffered heavy defeats to the Lions (46–5) and Bulls (64–0) in their opening matches and sit bottom of the Currie Cup table with a points difference of -105.
After those losses against the Gauteng sides, who are using more senior, though fringe, players, the Sharks play their first match in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend. They host the Cheetahs at their less-frequently used Sugar Ray Xulu stadium in the Durban township of Clermont on Saturday (kick-off 5.10pm).
'The boys are disappointed'
After naming another young side that included several changes to the one that lost so heavily at Loftus, Pietersen said it had been a week of reflection.
'Obviously, the boys are disappointed,' he said. 'There's not much more you can say as a coach – it's just be positive and help lift them up. There are still a lot of games left in the competition, there are only two games behind us.
'It wasn't a good enough performance. We did reflect and it was good words we've been talking about. So hopefully we can turn things around.'
With five regular-season matches left, Pietersen said the squad had honest discussions about what they could fix. They also welcomed a talk from head coach John Plumtree, who oversees the Sharks' United Rugby Championship and other European campaigns.
To that end, Pietersen reaffirmed their approach to back younger players, developing depth for the long seasons ahead.
Sharks could turn Currie Cup around with Cheetahs win
'Yes, it's not working now. But you never know, it may work this weekend,' the Sharks coach said.
Pietersen added it was hard to play catch-up in the tournament, but if they have a good result against the Cheetahs, they will be back in the competition.
He called the Cheetahs 'a bit of an unknown' thanks to their new coaching staff headed by Frans Steyn.
'They didn't get a result against Boland, but gee, they played well against Pumas. They had some exciting plays, very good in the set-piece. With Victor [Sekekete] there and the exciting nine they have [Jandre Nel].
'You can see that is the type of game they want to play. They want to speed the game up, play quickly with the nine.'
Sharks XV: Jaco Williams, Phiko Sobahle, Diego Appollis, Marnus Potgieter, Yaw Penxe, Vusi Moyo, Bradley Davids (vc), Nick Hatton (c), Matt Ramao, Tino Mavesere, Corne Rahl, Gideon Koegelenberg, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Jacques Marais, Phatu Ganyane. Bench: Willem van den Hever, Simphiwe Ngobese, Dian Heunis, Coetzee Le Roux, Jannes Potgieter, Ceano Everson, Jean Smith, Albie Bester.