- Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell was pleased with his team’s defensive steel in their 22-19 win against Edinburgh on Saturday.
- The Sharks held off their hosts, especially in the last five minutes, to secure their seventh United Rugby Championship win of the season.
- The Sharks were the only South African team to win in what was a bleak weekend for the SA teams.
Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell was effusive in his praise for how his charges pulled off a crucial 22-19 win against Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.
The Sharks had taken an early 14-0 lead thanks to tries from Grant Williams and Marnus Potgieter, but the hosts fought back with a brace from Adam McBurney and a try from Henry Immelman to take a 19-14 lead at half-time. .
The Sharks then held the hosts scoreless in the second half through a powerful defensive effort that was put into perspective by prop Carlu Sadie’s 10-minute loss for an illegal clearance in the 66th minute.
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He scored through Kerron van Vuuren and a Curwin Bosch penalty, from where he withstood everything his hosts threw at him in the last five minutes of the game.
Powell felt they allowed their opponents to stay in the game, but also praised his team’s composure despite conceding three late penalties.
“We’re proud of the guys for the character, the effort and the fight they showed in this game,” Powell said.
“It was tough in the last few minutes, but during the 80s, they showed the fight. We asked them to be physical and dominant and they did exactly that in this game.”
“We defended well, we kept structure and we played the game in the right areas of the pitch, but in the last 10-15 minutes, they fed off our mistakes.
“We made the game unstructured, and it suited their way of playing and that allowed them to get back into the game.”
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The Sharks’ win was South Africa’s only success of the weekend, with the Bulls, Stormers and Lions losing points against the Scarlets, Ulster and Connacht respectively.
The victory moved the Sharks to eighth on the record after 11 games with 33 points, two ahead of the team they defeated Saturday.
The Sharks will take part in the only URC game this weekend when they host the Stormers in Durban, a game that presents them with the chance to move away from Edinburgh.
Powell lamented the missed opportunities in the Scottish capital, but was pleased with the momentum gained from what was his seventh win of the season.
“We still had a few chances to take the game away from them,” Powell said.
“Overall it was a very good win for us and if you look at how the other South African teams played it’s a great success for us.
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“We will definitely take confidence, momentum and flow from this game. The commitment showed in this game.
“This should be the standard for the Sharks in terms of how we play and how we pitch for every game.”
