It was a fearless never-say-die attitude that enabled a Sharks XV to secure a 19-12 win over the Boland Kavaliers in a hard-fought Carling Currie Cup Premier Division clash on Saturday, coach Mike Vowles said.
After going down 36-28 in an away defeat to the Stormers XXIII in Cape Town last week, Vowles urged his side to match the physicality of the Kavaliers and they responded with a powerful display.
“This is a special group and we said for a while that we pride ourselves on connection and care,” Vowles said.
“They always fight.
“We probably haven’t been on the right side of some stuff the past couple of weeks, but one thing we never had to ask for is more attitude and more fight.
“This group has got that in tons.
“It was important for the guys to get across the line just from a confidence point of view and understanding that we can actually do it.
“In terms of the competition, this was a massive win.
“I’m really proud of the group. We were really tested from a character point of view.
“To hold on as we did in the second half makes me very proud.
“We created several opportunities, and you can see the growth in the team in how they’re starting to show more confidence in the way we play and in their decision-making.
“It’s another positive step in the right direction. In a big week for the Sharks, it was great to get a positive result and give back to the KwaMashu crowd who were awesome.
“It was definitely the resilience and fight that we showed.
“If you look at how we defended, there was physicality, effort and attitude, which was probably the defining part of the second half, just how we manned up physically and defended really well.
“That put them under pressure to keep us in the game.
“We kept our hopes alive, and we’re really determined to get into the top four and get into a semifinal.”
Scorers:
Sharks XV 19: Tries: Khuthi Rasivhaga (2), Deon Slabbert. Conversions: Tim Swiel (2).
Boland Cavaliers: 12 Tries: Jayden Bantom, Dewald Maritz. Conversion: Ashlon Davids.
Other results: Griquas 31 Lions 19, Bulls XV 31 Pumas 33, Stormers XVIII 26 Cheetahs 31.
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