Sharks ‘superpower’ pack praised for performance against Cardiff

Sharks captain Vincent Tshituka has lauded his pack for dominating the scrums and mauls to win penalties and secure two of their tries against Cardiff at Arms Park on Saturday.

The Sharks were the better side, especially in defence, though the Welsh team had moments of brilliance scoring four tries compared to the Sharks’ six (final score 42–22) in their 10th-round United Rugby Championship match.

Tshituka stood in as captain for Siya Kolisi, who had a Springbok-mandated rest. The loose forward also moved to the second row due to a lock shortage caused by injury, and earned man-of-the-match for starring in the lineouts and defence.

Tshituka also impressed with his leadership, something head coach John Plumtree said he expected this week.

Sharks ‘get over the emotions’

Tshituka said the Sharks knew it would be a tough game in Cardiff, especially after their 66–12 thrashing by Bordeaux last weekend.

He said they had to bounce back mentally, and the front row – Trevor Nyakane, Bongi Mbonambi, Ntuthuko Mchunu and replacements Ruan Dreyer and Vincent Koch – did wonders to motivate the team through their impact on the game.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy to get over the emotions of things but that’s exactly what we did,” Tshituka said. “I think it was a top performance from the boys.”

The man-of-the-match said the Sharks had to compose themselves after Cardiff came out flying with a try and more attacks within the first 10 minutes.

“Controlling the emotions was a big part of our game this week. I feel like we really handled that well.

“We knew that whether we score first or they score first, when we go behind the pole and we get the right leaders chatting we control our emotions. It’s a restart process.”

He commended the forwards for dominating the scrums and mauls, and Mbonambi for his two tries.

“Our forward pack is our superpower. It is good to reap the rewards [they produce] as a team. That’s exactly what happened so I’m grateful.”

Sharks only getting better at finishing in opposition 22

Tshituka said the Sharks seized their chances in this game better than they had earlier in the season.

Cardiff, on the other hand, knocked the ball on or lost turnovers in the Sharks 22 several times, thanks to the Sharks’ solid defence.

“That’s a place we had battled and it is only getting better here on out.”

Jurenzo Julius, Makazole Mapimpi, Francois Venter and Yaw Penxe also scored tries for the Sharks while Jordan Hendrikse slotted home all six of his conversions.

The Sharks next play against the Bulls in their first URC derby on 15 February.