For Hollywoodbets Sharks XV head coach Mike Vowles, the wonderful victory over the Vodacom Bulls in Friday evening’s final pool match of the Carling Currie Cup was just reward for all the hard work the players and coaching staff have poured into this campaign.
“I’m very proud of the group, we spoke about putting a big performance in, so it was important to back up last week’s victory with another good performance,” he said after their 53-22 victory at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
“I’m incredibly proud of the effort, we worked so hard to get to this point, so to finish the round robin stages on a high speaks volumes to how the team has grown and where they’re at as a collective.”
He also heaped praise on the backroom staff whose contributions have been enormous. Scoring nine tries against a traditional foe was something special and demonstrated the team’s willingness to play exciting, attacking rugby, and being rewarded for the hard work they’ve put in to achieve those ambitions.
“The coaching group has worked so hard, so to see our maul and lineout function the way it did was a massive credit to MB Luseseni who worked tirelessly there, and Lionel Cronje who does our attack, to see those areas grow and to see the confidence the guys now have, is testament to the hard work they’ve put in.
“I’m so pleased that those two areas in particular have improved during the campaign and this performance was reward for all the effort and time put into those departments.”
The win kept their play-off hopes alive for a day, until the Airlink Pumas’ defeat of the Toyota Cheetahs put paid to that, but despite having got to the point where they were fighting for a top four finish, that wasn’t the focus.
“The result or bonus point wasn’t really anything we spoke about, we tried to keep our focus on our performance and the things we could control.
“The first half going the way it did obviously took some pressure off, but we knew the Vodacom Bulls would come back at us, so it was about controlling what we could in the game, continuing to play and find moments that brought positives.”
Vowles admitted that there was a sense of satisfaction after the victory, the team having given themselves a chance to finish in the top four and earn a semi-final spot.
“The feeling is two-fold: we wanted to give ourselves an opportunity in the competition and honour playing at home. We wanted to put in a big performance at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and I think we ticked the boxes on both fronts.”
With the campaign now over, thoughts shift to a retrospective examination of the way the team went about the competition.
“We’ve learned so much, primarily that the group has grown together significantly, there has been so much good stuff happening off the field around our culture and building some cohesion in the group.
“There was massive effort from our leadership group, the time they put in to connect with the group and align themselves with our vision.”
