The Hollywoodbets Sharks host Connacht in Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship showdown at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in what is expected to be a confrontational match between two proud teams.
Hollywoodbets Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo has warned that while all the Irish sides play a similar style of rugby, Connacht are slightly different in that they embrace the physical aspect of the game which should make for an entertaining, but competitive battle between the two sides.
“The Irish sides are quite connected in what they do, so there is a resemblance they all show and you see similar things from all of them, but Connacht are slightly different. For an Irish side, they’re incredibly physical and confrontation, so they have the ability to play around you, but before that they show that they can also play through you. They’re big boys and don’t shy away from the confrontational stuff.”
In saying that, Connacht have started the competition with a nice run of home games and will come to Durban playing completely different conditions to what they’re used to.
“They’ve started the competition without their internationals and won three out of four games in the URC, so they’ll come here high on confidence, high in belief and we’re expecting a good challenge,” Mongalo continued.
“It will be a bit of a shock for them, there will be sunshine and blue skies, but the conditions may not be totally alien, being hot and humid, with a wet ball.
After being on the road for four weeks, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are happy to be back in Durban. In saying that, spending a month away had both its challenges and rewards.
“It’s challenging in that some guys thrive being in each other’s space for 30 days, but you also get introverts in a team, so it’s about getting the balance and dynamics right between spending more or less time together on tour. But thinking and doing are not always the same and there are certain nuances about playing in Durban that can only be experienced on the field.”
The Hollywoodbets Sharks may not have enjoyed success on the field, but as a team, the time away has certainly had some benefits for the team.
“As a new team, under a new coaching staff, being away for four weeks gave us much-needed time together and better than just being together, is being together in adversity, because adversity has a way of revealing character in individuals and groups.
“Adversity can either divide you or bring you together, and it has definitely galvanised this group. I must compliment this group for the way they stuck together and fought for each other.
“What’s clear is that these guys are demonstrably trying, the effort is there.”
There’s no doubt that the team is not far off where they want to be. While they’re not there yet, Mongalo admitted that, “We’ve shown good patches at times, there were really good moments on defence against all the teams, that shows that the system is building. On attack in the last game, there were a couple of good moments where we were one pass way from scoring.
“Our challenge is piecing patches together long enough to create a good patch over a long period of time that will see us putting points on the board, rather than conceding them.
“The consistency and regularity of those patches is what we are after. We have a group of guys trying to play a brand of rugby that is high in entertainment, high-risk-high-reward and we need to understand that there will be errors because we’re trying to play a lot more rugby.
“It is important that people understand how this team is building and where we are going to.”