Brad Macleod-Henderson
Cell C Sharks coach Brad Macleod-Henderson is happy with his side’s victory over Griquas in round one of this year’s Currie Cup competition with the Durban-based outfit besting the Peacock Blues 31-24 in closely contested affair in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors enjoyed a comfortable lead of 18-3 at half-time after Griquas centre Jonathan Francke was shown a Red Card in the seventh minute for a dangerous tackle.
It left the Sharks with one man over on attack as well as defence but, in the end, they had to work hard to best a motivated home side.
Sport24
“It was a scrappy game at times and we were put under pressure at some instances, but in the end we pulled it through,” Macleod-Henderson said.
“Kimberley is always a difficult challenge and I am happy with the points we got against Griquas.”
The Sharks had a couple of debutantes in their line-up, including scrumhalf Cameron Wright, prop Thomas du Toit and veteran English flanker Matt Stevens, who all contributed towards the victory along with stalwart centres Paul Jordaan and S’bura Sithole, flanker Jacques Botes and flyhalf Fred Zeilinga.
The latter contributed 21 points to the Sharks’ total, scoring a try and kicking two conversions and four penalties.
“I am very happy with some of the younger players who really stepped up and performed well. Everyone contributed on the day and we are now focusing on next week against the Pumas.”
Griquas coach Hawies Fourie said the Red Card put his side on the back foot, but lauded his players for never letting up.
The hosts came from 15 points down at half-time to within four points in the final minutes before a late penalty kick by Zeilinga sealed their fate.
“We had a huge setback with Jonathan being Red-Carded,” Fourie said.
“It put us on the back foot, especially in the first half. We had a talk at half-time and I told the players just to remain calm and we will get back in the game.”
“It happened as predicted, but unfortunately we couldn’t capitalise from the last kick off.”
The team from the City of Diamonds next travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs at home.
The latter lost to the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday evening and will be out to rectify that result when they play host for their neighbours from the Northern Cape.
“We know that the Cheetahs game is going to be a tough ask. They played well against the Pumas even though they lost,” Fourie said.
“We will take this week and work on everything that needs attention and hopefully we can turn it around come next weekend.”
“Sharks pleased with victory”.
So am I.
Reading through the game thread, a lot of losers aren’t.
Sorry for you.
@ Charo:
Pity party time again?
At least some of us actually backed them on SuperBru, unlike certain loyal Shark supporters
@ nortierd:
Use your head for superbru.
Use your heart for dissing.
geez, someone call a whambulance
@ Charo:
Surely you can back your team, the best in SA according to so many, CC champs, proud holders of the coveted Conference Cup, to beat a lowly team like Griquas?
Interesting concept dissing, does that mean not participating in conversation, but only logging on after the fact and then pulling a Jannie Jammergat because people are not “nice” to those precious ones in Black & White?
Sounds like a pity party to me 🙄
@ nortierd:
griquas are tough to beat at home. if they had been able to keep 15 on the field they could easily have beaten the sharks. so going for a narrow griqua win wasn’t so far off the mark.
there is a comfortable little clique here on RT that gets their jollies from dissing the sharks and their fans.
you okes are using the FS/JW bok saga as an excuse to express your prejudices against a union that boxes above it’s weight in terms of natural resources only because there is brainpower to overcome the odds.
It is like the traditional old foes coming together as allies to fight the new enemy (that mercenary jonny-come-lately bunch).
Looking at the players that the Sharks put on the park on Saturday, compared to the Griquas, the Sharks should have won that game easily, even had the Griquas not had that red card. The fact is that the Sharks struggled to put a 14 man Griquas side away. I am the first to admit that playing in Kimberley is not easy. The Lions have had some poor results there, so I do sympathise with the Sharks. But to scrape in against a 14 man Griquas by 7 is not what one would expect from a side expected to be in the top 4 of the competition.
@ Charo:
If the Guppy fans were less emo they would still be here to backslap each other on how good they recruit a team.
Brainpower, well, that’s debatable considering the brain dead game plan employed by the Sharks.
If the Stormers had to run away every time a Shark or Bull supporter said something nasty like Donkey De Villiers or Spermwhale Vermeulen, there would be none of us left either.
Fattie Steyn has done nothing of note for me to have to feel the love for him. This is a guy who felt nothing for you and your other Shark supporters last year, came in fat, useless and unfit and showed you and Plumtree a big fat toffee, but all of a sudden, just because he only loves Jake and plays for him, you can’t see the wood for the trees and he is número UNO in the Sharks’ books again.
Nee wat, hou hom maar, but don’t expect everyone else to fawn over him.
Same with Jake, he’s not my team’s coach, so why should any of us like him?
But, I digress, I see it’s a sensitive affair not loving the mercenaries down in KZN, at least they have you to sort us nasties out 😀
@ nortierd:
The sharkies just makes it toooo easy. Especially when every second player should be a springbok and when they play badly the excuses come flying in, “oh the springbok camp disrupted us” and my personal favorite “the humidity making try scoring difficult”
@ Charo:
The Sharks have had everything going for the the last two years, they are a bit ahead of the rest of the SA teams, so they would obviously have a target on them from other supporters who have been getting the same from sharks supporters…when the bulls were on top and then when the stormers were on top… who ever takes over the reigns after 2015 when all the old sharks stalwarts and even Jake leaves, will suffer the same fate.
It is just especially entertaining to us because of how vocal sharks supporters were about the stormers… yet it is like dejavu what is happening in Durban, it is ridiculous… but it is justified because JW is a world cup winning coach… so is Alistair 😀
Does anybody know how Jimmy Stonehouse got his shiner?
9&10 @ MacroBull:
One would think MB, but we are not dealing with the ordinary here.
😀
Please, don’t ever write something like “I hope X team wins” when they play against the Rugby Gods in Black & White, it’s disrespectful to support the underdog or even your own team against them.
You will, 2 days later, incur the wrath of the chosen ones and a great big Boom will be directed your way ( of course, this scenario is only applicable if they win, should they lose, just wait a few weeks and then once they again manage a win, they will be back )
Lion4ever wrote:
Apparently he was doing curls with his 50kg loose weights and accidentally looked down 😀
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