Sharks are mauling New Zealand sides because they play ‘Springbok rugby’

Sharks coach Robert du Preez warned that his team are capable of even better rugby than they produced in their superb 38-12 hammering of the Highlanders in their Super Rugby match at King’s Park at the weekend.

The bonus point win lifted the Sharks into the play-off positions and the South African Conference is building to a thrilling climax.

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The Lions still lead the way with 31 points from 11 games, but they face the Highlanders in Dunedin next weekend, while the Jaguares’ incredible clean sweep on tour has lifted them to 24 points, also from 11 matches.

But the Sharks are just a further point behind, with a game in hand on the Argentinians and last year’s
finalists.

“We spoke a lot in the week about taking ownership and taking our game to the next level after beating the Stormers and this was one of the best Sharks’ performances I have seen in many years. And this team has still got a
lot more to offer. We know we still left quite a few tries out there.

“But it was a fantastic performance by every single one of the players, we just really clicked. We would have been happy just to win, so the bonus point really is a big bonus. Now we want to just keep on working hard and
improving. But there were some fantastic performances from numbers one to 23, because the bench did unbelievably well too,” Du Preez said after the game.

The Sharks, by comprehensively beating the Blues and Highlanders, and running the Hurricanes so close in Wellington, have shown it is not impossible to beat the New Zealand teams.

Du Preez said the good results against the Kiwis were just a result of focusing on their own game and getting the basics right.

“I don’t think it has to do with playing against a New Zealand team, we just executed really well. We’re not trying to copy the New Zealand teams, we’re Springboks and we want to play to our strengths as South Africans. To score five tries was impressive though.

“When this team is patient it can do great things. There were still a couple of 50/50 passes thrown, but that will come. We had a great start, which set the tone, and the break was great for the boys, they were really energised after playing eight games in a row, including four weeks on tour. It’s a tough competition,” Du Preez said.