Two wins, 10 log points and top of the table. JP Pietersen on the culture, the crowd and the Springboks behind the Hollywoodbets Sharks' perfect start.
Following back-to-back wins in the opening two weeks of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, Hollywoodbets Sharks head coach JP Pietersen admitted that he was somewhat blown away by his team’s performances.
“We’ll take this one!” he said.
“To win against a champion side is really special and to get five points is amazing, we’ll enjoy this win. I’m still processing this win, processing that we’ve won two with 10 log points, it’s been an unreal start to the season.”
And the secret to his team’s success?
“I don’t think there’s any secret,” he admitted. “It’s about players buying in to the culture we created during the pre-season, where they can be themselves and play the game they want to play, and we all made a collective decision about the goal we want to achieve, and it was clear in the performance against Leinster that there was buy-in by the players.”
One of the major factors behind the success was playing at home in front of a passionate Hollywoodbets Kings Park crowd and Pietersen explained that winning at home was a huge focus of theirs.
“We pride ourselves playing in front of our supporters, Durban is special, there is a real vibe here and the opposition needs to come here and earn a win, playing in humidity which was clear in this game. This is our home and we don’t want to concede points and we don’t want to make it easy against us.
“We were under the pump in the last 10 minutes, it was a close game but the fans came out in numbers and really got behind the boys. There have been a lot of changes at the Hollywoodbets Sharks, we are in a transition period, we needed defence to get us over the line, and they way the boys stood up shows what we are about as a team and an organisation.
“We want to fight and make our fans happy, and I think we did that.”
Everything seemed to fall nicely into place and the Springboks in particular fitted back into their franchise seamlessly following a tough international test window against the All Blacks and Wallabies.
Their contribution cannot be understated.
“I was quite nervous before the game, we had only one training session with the Bok players, but it shows how elite they are as players. They’re professional enough to get straight back into the game, they never looked off.
“We needed an injection off the bench and Eben was outstanding with that try that Andre scored, and then Edwill to finish it off with that intercept try.
“It shows what they bring. The rest of the group play within the system, making sure it works and laying a platform, and then the Springboks just do their thing, be the best version of themselves and just perform.”
After two weeks, the Hollywoodbets Sharks sit top of the overall table, the only side in the tournament with maximum log points, and this clearly demonstrates that something is very right at the union.
“We’ll take this win, but I’m a realist and this wasn’t Leinster’s best of the best. But they put us under pressure, they have a good system, a good coach and a good organisation. Their players know how to win, they’re the defending champions.
“For us as a group, we take this win and regroup and get better because we have another beast waiting for us in Cape Town on Saturday.”
