The Hollywoodbets Sharks kicked off their Vodacom United Rugby Championship pre-season preparations with a comprehensive 66-nil defeat of the SWD Eagles in Goerge on Friday evening.
The hit-out was the first of two the team will play ahead of the tournament commencement in a little over two weeks’ time – they play the 10Bets Lions at Ellis Park Stadium this Friday evening to conclude their prep – and it was a satisfying outcome for the team.
They attacked from everywhere and after taking a 19-0 half-time lead, upped the tempo, scoring 47 points in a blistering second half, and again denying the hosts any points in the game.
There are a number of chief aims the team look to gain out of these two matches, gaining match-readiness is one, filtering players back into the system, testing and refining combinations, and growing the game model and player skillsets before kicking off the VURC against the Ospreys on Saturday 26 September at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
“It was a good performance overall for us as a team and really important to have such a good outing against the Eagles on Friday night, the boys could to play a bit and they were able to build cohesion which is exactly what we’re looking for out of these two games,” head coach JP Pietersen admitted afterwards.
He added that he was gratified to see the team stick to the plan and not only to express themselves, but given the scoreline and vast amounts of preparation, to transfer what they’ve done on the training pitch in the game situation.
“What we want out of these games is to see what we’ve trained in pre-season coming alive in games and we showed some good stuff in this game with the forwards and backs interlinking and playing well with each other.”
Despite the large margin of victory, Pietersen was grateful for the effort his opponents put in to test his team’s defence, and then for the attack to achieve the aims they set out.
“SWD gave us a big test, they have a strong forward pack, so physically they demanded a lot from us, and with the mauls and kicking game, it was a good fitness test for us.
“So that’s a box we’ve ticked.”
Other focal points going into the game was to give match-time to players who have put their hands up, who have used the Carling Currie Cup tournament to make a case for inclusion in the VURC squad. “It was also good to give Carling Currie Cup players who stood out this season an opportunity and showcase their talents.”
The team now look ahead to Friday night’s match which should offer a massive challenge for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.“We were fortunate to have no serious injuries against the Eagles, the players are looking good, fitness levels are looking good and the interlinking is getting more and more cohesive, close to where we want to be.“What we’re building is really exciting.”
