Sharks coach Pietersen laments Bok absences, disruptions after Bulls defeat

While Sharks head coach JP Pietersen said they had no excuses for their one-sided defeat to the Bulls on Saturday, he took pains to note the many challenges facing the Durban union.

Chief among them, as was the case under his predecessor, John Plumtree, is the absence of national players on Springbok-mandated rest.

The Sharks lost 41-12 at Loftus, their second defeat in a row. The Lions, by contrast, won their final two United Rugby Championship derbies, against the Sharks and Stormers, to leapfrog the Sharks on the tournament’s South African Shield table and secure the title for the first time.

While they were once poised to win it all, the Sharks must now settle for second or third place pending the final derby between the Bulls and Stormers in a fortnight.

They were also slipping further from the top eight. Captain André Esterhuizen said they practically needed to win all six of their remaining matches now.

Sharks on a knife-edge

The Bulls backline scored seven tries against the Sharks’ two, capitalising on kick-and-chases and cross-kicks against a Sharks defence that had no answers.

The first try epitomised this. Canan Moodie chased his own kick, grounding after two Sharks players fell over each other while scrambling after a tricky bounce.

The Sharks had brought six Springboks back into the starting line-up and boasted a total 10 in the starting XV. But they still missed Siya Kolisi, Grant Williams and Ethan Hooker, who were serving rest protocols.

“It’s hard to build cohesion when you are resting seven okes in a row, and then you have to rebuild. But it doesn’t give us an excuse,” Pietersen said.

“The guys who step in need to take their opportunity.”

He added that injuries to Aphelele Fassi, Nick Hatton and Emile van Heerden, combined with the 15-minute lightning delay, had been disruptive, even if the delay affected both teams equally.

International calendar hurting unions

“They (Springboks and emerging players) are now going away on the alignment camp, so I only see them in two weeks’ time. It is what it is,” Pietersen said.

He added that the Springboks were winning most of their matches (11/13 last season). But all the Sharks players who went to play for South Africa struggled when they returned home, as seen by their four wins out of 12 in the URC this season.

Pietersen felt the international calendar should perhaps be reassessed to ease the burden on unions.

“42-12 is not good for viewing; it is a one-sided game. Yes we can get better, and culture is the thing.

“You win in the Springbok culture but in the Sharks culture you are losing… it’s something I need to figure out as the coach.”