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Ken Borland



Faulty game-management and individual errors to blame for Sharks defeat – Powell 0

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Ken

Faulty game-management and individual errors were to blame for the Sharks’ 40-27 defeat at the hands of the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend, director of rugby Neil Powell said after the United Rugby Championship derby.

The match was more competitive than the scoreline suggested, but the Bulls were just more clinical and enjoyed the edge up front.

“It was a game of missed opportunities and quite a few individual errors for us,” Powell said. “We wanted to execute better and we had quite a few chances in the first half to put the Bulls under pressure.

“Unfortunately we were not clinical enough in the execution of our individual roles and it showed. Rugby is always a game of momentum and confidence, if you give it away, then good teams like the Bulls will punish you.

“We definitely need to work on our game-management. Especially after we conceded the first try, we dropped our heads a bit. Then the second try also took some energy away.

“We definitely need to address that, we have to keep playing for the full 80 minutes. During the international break, we’ll be looking closely at where we can improve, both as a team and in individual skillsets,” Powell said.

The Sharks left 17-16 going into the final quarter, so they were very much in the contest, but the energy of the Bulls bench and some excellent attacking play from turnover ball saw the home side score three tries to seal the result.

“We always know it’s going to be physical against the Bulls at Loftus and we did well in the first half. We stopped their maul and forced them to kick penalties to poles and not for touch,” Powell said.

“So the guys really did well to step up physically, we just did not manage one or two areas of the game well enough to win. We didn’t really find momentum in the first half.

“And then we scored in the second half and got some momentum, but we couldn’t hang on to it. I think not playing last week did hurt us, it stopped our flow a bit.

“From a defensive perspective, a lot of players missed tackles and we definitely need to address that. We need to invest more time in those players,” Powell said.

Defence, game-management & bouncebackability listed by Van Rooyen as Lions’ best qualities 0

Posted on March 01, 2022 by Ken

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen listed defence, game-management and his side’s ability to bounce back from a chastening defeat as the qualities he was happiest about in his team’s performance against the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld at the weekend.

Although the Lions went down 13-21 to their Gauteng neighbours, it was a markedly improved showing from the previous weekend when they were hammered 34-10 by the same side at Ellis Park. And the Lions could even have won in Pretoria were it not for their failure to execute at lineout time, missed chances on attack and a couple of unfortunate scrum penalties that went against them.

“The defence is probably the area that has grown the most since June,” Van Rooyen said. “It’s been difficult to change our system, but against a big, physical Bulls team, we made it difficult for them, we put them back.

“We thought it would rain and we tried to keep them in their 22. We had much more territorial advantage this game and Tiaan Swanepoel makes a big difference with his big boot. The game-management overall was much better today.

“It was a tough week after the loss at Ellis Park, but the reaction we got from the players today says a lot about the group and how they are growing. We really had the Bulls under pressure for the first 20-25 minutes,” Van Rooyen said.

Captain Jaco Kriel, who had been outspoken in his criticism of the previous weekend’s effort, said there had been a welcome lift in intensity at Loftus Versfeld.

“It was nice to see that reaction to what happened last week and how we stayed together as a group,” Kriel said. “But we can be much more clinical. We were in the right areas but we just didn’t round off.

“We spoke about defence for the whole week and the guys’ shoulders certainly felt it! We created enough opportunities through that, but then just small mistakes let us down.

“We had enough chances to convert that pressure into points, but we just didn’t take them. But there was no question about the effort nor the intensity today,” Kriel said.

Sharks go into rematch against Stormers with someone more ‘adult’ at flyhalf 0

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Ken

Coach Sean Everitt was at pains on Thursday not to criticise his team’s game-management after they let slip a handy lead in their previous game against the Stormers, but the Sharks will go into Saturday’s United Rugby Championship rematch in Cape Town with someone a bit more ‘adult’ pulling the strings at flyhalf in Tito Bonilla.

The 32-year-old Bonilla, who has played four Tests for Argentina and was the Jaguares first-choice flyhalf when they reached the Super Rugby final in 2019, replaces 22-year-old Boeta Chamberlain at pivot as the Sharks look to go one better than their 22-22 draw with the Stormers last weekend, after leading 19-3 with half-an-hour to go in Durban.

Bonilla has also played for high-profile clubs in Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers.

“Tito has been on the bench for a number of games and hasn’t got the time for an extended run,” Everitt said after announcing his team. “He hasn’t really got the time he would have wanted on the field.

“He’s an international and will bring calm and composure. He likes to direct things on the field, he can guide the team around really well.

“Our draw did not have too much to do with game-management, we played in the right areas but our accuracy and discipline let us down. It’s always tough if you’re giving away yellow cards.

“We knew if we gave the Stormers back three space to run at us, then we would be in trouble,” Everitt said.

The Sharks squad are certainly treated like adults in a player-driven environment, and Everitt expects those discipline issues to be sorted come Saturday.

“The game of rugby starts with discipline and you can’t win if you concede four yellow cards and two penalty tries. They were individual things, we’ve certainly spoken about it and addressed it.

“We will be better on Saturday. Our discipline has actually been very good in the Currie Cup and URC, we are below average in conceding penalties. Against the Stormers we conceded 14 penalties to their 16.

“So it’s not a chronic problem for us and it’s not due to our relaxed approach. The players do work extremely hard and Bongi Mbonambi drives the discipline side. The coaches set the rules and standards,” Everitt said.

There is also a change at scrumhalf for Saturday, with Jaden Hendrikse starting in place of Grant Williams. But the livewire Williams has certainly not been thrown to the dogs, Everitt saying he played really well last weekend and he foresees his No.9s rotating through the season.

Inside centre Ben Tapuai is currently troubled by a knee injury and captain Lukhanyo Am will shift to No.12, where he was man of the match against the Bulls in December, with Jeremy Ward coming in at outside centre.

Sharks: Aphelele Fassi, Sbu Nkosi, Jeremy Ward, Lukhanyo Am (c), Makazole Mapimpi, Tito Bonilla, Jaden Hendrikse, Phepsi Buthelezi, Jeandre Labuschagne, Siya Kolisi, Hyron Andrews, Ruben van Heerden, Thomas du Toit (v/c), Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche. Replacements – Kerron van Vuuren, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Khutha Mchunu, Gerbrandt Grobler, Henco Venter, Grant Williams, Boeta Chamberlain, Werner Kok.

Sharks look to game-management skills of Pienaar & Chamberlain as they try to win back-to-back in Wales 0

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Ken

After their morale-boosting win over the Ospreys, the Sharks will once again be looking to the terrific game-management skills shown by halfbacks Ruan Pienaar and Boeta Chamberlain as they try to back up that triumph with victory over Cardiff in their United Rugby Championship match at the Arms Park on Saturday night.

Giving up territory and penalties were the two main problems for the Sharks in their opening two losses to Munster and Glasgow Warriors, but coach Sean Everitt is hopeful that those two departments have now been sorted out for their meeting with the Welshmen.

“We had struggled with our game-management, which meant we didn’t have any territory, and we also gave away a number of penalties,” Everitt said.

“But then it was totally different against Ospreys, we gave away very few penalties and that’s against a team that plays for penalties and territory. Ruan and Boeta were outstanding with the way they controlled the game.

“Boeta is filling a big hole in terms of our depth at flyhalf, we’ve been blooding him, giving him confidence, and I was very pleased with how he dominated the show. He has a big contribution to make.

“We left a few opportunities on the field though, the bonus point was there for the taking, so we have worked hard on our accuracy and execution. There was definitely still room for improvement,” Everitt said.

The breakdown is sure to be a key area again and Cardiff, who utterly dominated that department in the first half of their loss against the Bulls, but were then outwrestled there in the second half, derive much of their momentum from that phase.

Openside flank Dylan Richardson, whose talents were this week confirmed to be rehomed to Scotland rugby, will spearhead the Sharks’ efforts in that regard.

Like the Bulls, the Sharks have been in contact with former South African Test referee Tappe Henning, who is now the Match Official Commissioner in Scotland, to help them with the different interpretations being used at the breakdown up north.

“It’s been great to have Tappe with us, he helped the Bulls and he has certainly added value to us. We’ve been penalised quite heavily at the breakdown, but we do go hard at the ball. But also our attacking breakdown has been a struggle,” Everitt said. The Sharks will be hoping the turnaround in fortunes at that crucial phase of the game will be as dramatic as it was for the Bulls.

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    “How genuine can your love for God truly be if you are aware of a serious need and do nothing to alleviate it?”- Solly Ozrovech, A Shelter From The Storm



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