Sharks must now turn pressure rugby into points, insists attack coach

Sharks attack coach Dave Williams wants the team to convert their chances on Saturday in their clash against Welsh outfit the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship at Durban’s Kings Park Stadium (7pm).

One area that has let down the Sharks in the URC this season has been their attack; it has been lacklustre, with zero to little variation.

This was evident in last weekend’s 13-12 defeat to Connacht, where they were in control of the match and spent a lot of time in the opposition’s red zone and despite scoring two tries on the day, they lacked innovation and bite in attack.

Converting into points

Williams, who is in charge of the attack department, said on Wednesday the Sharks need to put in a greater effort in converting their chances and putting points on the board.

“The focus for us is getting those conversions on the back of the good rugby,” said Williams when speaking to the media.

“We have a long-term plan with John Plumtree about what we are trying to do as a franchise, while the focus on the short term is about finishing the chances we are creating,” he said.

‘Internal growth’

Williams’ department is vital in the new system the Sharks want to play — an explosive attacking brand of rugby. The attack coach insists that there is improvement in the way the team are playing.

“We’ve spoken as a group about evolving our game, and building pressure with the ball throughout our transition game, and we have seen the rewards in terms of line breaks.

“We have seen growth internally around what we are trying to achieve, obviously now the end product will be getting the scoreboard in our favour. That’s the constant work-on we are excited to deliver for the fans. We are excited about going out this weekend to take the rewards that our game is creating for us,” he said.

The Sharks, who are winless in five URC games, are bottom of the log.