Sharks draw goes to show small mistakes can have big consequences – Everitt
Having seen his team squander a 19-3 lead in the third quarter and be forced to finish all-square on 22-all with the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship match at Kings Park at the weekend, Sharks coach Sean Everitt said it just goes to show how “small mistakes can have big consequences”.
And those consequences snowballed into an absolute train wreck in the last 10 minutes as the Sharks conceded three yellow cards and two penalty tries to leave them with a frustrating draw from a match they had otherwise dominated.
“We did everything right for 70 minutes and threw it away at the end,” Everitt bemoaned. “It shows that small mistakes have big consequences, especially when it comes to discipline.
“Our kicking at poles also wasn’t good enough and we had other opportunities to win the game as well – we could have finished off Grant Williams’ quick tap better and we had opportunities five metres out too.
“The guys are really disappointed and it’s not the result you want from a game you dominated. At 19-3 it then came down to discipline and we put ourselves under the pump; we beat ourselves tonight,” Everitt said.
The one big positive for the Sharks was their outstanding scrummaging display, thanks to the impressive cohesion shown by their all-Springbok front row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Thomas du Toit.
“The fantastic thing was the cohesion that was there,” Everitt said. “The Stormers won four scrum penalties against the Bulls last weekend so we knew we could take nothing for granted.
“But Thomas has been a standout in the URC, he had four great games in the UK, and has clearly learnt a lot in the last couple of years. He’s been outstanding.
“And Ox as well, they are all scrumming together with the Springboks and he has also come a long way. He’s being dominant every game,” Everitt said.
It was an assessment Stormers coach John Dobson was happy to co-sign, giving man of the match Nche glowing praise.
“Ox was absolutely magnificent and has shown incredible growth. He’s got to be one of the best looseheads in the world at the moment,” Dobson said.
On the final penalty try that Aphelele Fassi conceded with a deliberate knock-on, Everitt said his fullback should not have chased the ball so hard.
“Ideally you don’t want to get your hand to the ball unless you’re sure you can catch it. In that situation, you should try force them into the corner so at least the conversion kick is difficult.
“Or hover between the two men so they have to go over you. But with one back short already, it was always going to be difficult to defend,” Everitt acknowledged.