Joey Mongalo on facing a full-strength Leinster, fixing the soft moments that cost four tries against the Ospreys, and why the Club’s new structure will only peak in three to five years.
This Saturday’s clash between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and reigning Vodacom United Rugby Championship champions Leinster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park presents the perfect opportunity to be tested against the tournament’s best.
In analysing this match, Hollywoodbets Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo acknowledges the massive challenge his team faces against a quality side that isn’t the reigning champs for nothing.
“If you look at the amount of experience and provincial and international caps they have, we expect a full-blown Leinster team, which is like playing against Ireland,” he admits.
“They’re an established group of guys who we know what we’re going to get from them, but what a privilege for our youngsters to go up against.
“This is an opportunity to test themselves against the very best.”
For a defence coach, after the Ospreys scored four tries against the Hollywoodbets Sharks last week and knowing what’s to come this week, this is something they will look to address for the Leinster game, especially as they’re up against a gifted attacking team that was rewarded for their efforts last year in winning the title.
“As a defence coach, conceding even one try hurts, so four tries really hurts a lot. But in our review, the system was in place, we had some soft moments on defence, so it’s more about moments than systems, so we feel there’s nothing wrong with the system we have in place and about people knowing where to be, it was about one or two errors.
“How that translates into this week is that Leinster will take those opportunities, they’re the current champions and a team that’s well-oiled. Good teams are likely to get a score, but you can’t give them a score and we felt we gave Ospreys scores which is not where we want to be.
“We want to build a defensive culture at the Hollywoodbets Sharks, we want to work towards a situation where teams know we’re a side that’s hard to score against, and that’s why we were so disappointed after the game.
“We know we’ll have to be better this week.”
Having been involved at the Durban franchise for some time and seeing the fruits of the entire group’s labours, from players to coaching staff, he is well-equipped to assess where the team has come from and where they are going.
“The Hollywoodbets Sharks have gone through a lot of change, over the last five years there have been something like 30 assistant coaches and five or six head coaches, which means the team can’t build an identity.
“What’s happened now is that we’ve looked holistically at the structure and remedied that. We have an upper layer of ex-rugby people like Dave Williams and Rory Duncan who can speak to the CEO about the rugby needs necessary to perform.
“After that you have a former Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok in JP Pietersen as head coach and he’s allowed his assistant coaches under him to do their thing and do them well. And if those coaches need anything, he has direct access to the decision-makers around money and recruitment.
“Under that, you have a player core that is probably the most stable we’ve had in some time and then a young generation who have learned their rugby here in Durban.
“So when you take those three systems together – good leadership, JP leading a good team and young players coming through – it bodes well for the organisation and where it’s going.
“Like all good things, this takes time. We will definitely be better than we were last year, but we will see the fruits of this system in three to five years when it peaks.”
