For the second time in as many weeks, Sharks interim coach JP Pietersen said he was proud of how his team fought to the death in a losing cause.
The Sharks lost to the Lions by one point in their United Rugby Championship derby last week, thanks to a last-minute try in the corner. Then on Saturday, they were more comprehensively beaten 26-10 by the Sale Sharks – four tries to one – in their third-round Champions Cup match in Manchester.
Pietersen dropped 13 Springboks in his matchday 23 for the game, opting rather for the youngsters who lost heavily to Toulouse in France in the first round.
Despite a strong showing at the scrum in the first half, the second-string Sharks were undone by poor execution elsewhere. They struggled under the high ball and committed costly handling errors in the freezing conditions – twice knocking the ball on with the tryline in sight.
The Sharks’ sole victory over the Saracens at Kings Park in the second round ensures they sit fifth in the pool, one place above Clermont, whom they play at home next week in the final round game.
The Durban union will almost certainly need to win to finish fourth and progress to the round of 16. They will drop into the second-tier Challenge Cup if they lose narrowly, and out of European competition altogether if they lose by at least 11 points, Clermont take a bonus point and the Sharks do not earn a bonus point.
Sharks coach proud of youngsters
“I am obviously disappointed we didn’t get the result, but also proud of the boys for fighting for 80 minutes,” Pietersen said.
“It’s a young group, but it’s a good mix of youth and experience. We gave ourselves the opportunity to win the game. To be away from home and 7-3 down at half-time. It showed the fight in the group.”
However, a lack of concentration for 15 minutes after half-time allowed Sale to score two quick tries, and left the Sharks with a “mountain to climb”.
“We fought back to the score 19-10, and you could see there was hope and belief in the group.
“They scored again to put the game out of our reach. But if you look at the whole game, we fought from minute one to 80.”
He said the team led by 22-year-old Nick Hatton “played some good rugby”.
“I’m excited for what the group can do still. There are a lot of positives we can take from this week into next week when we play Clermont at home… The boys are making the Sharks jersey proud.”
