Neil Powell says it was all about “getting five points” as the Sharks booked a place in the Champions Cup last 16 with a bonus-point victory over Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday.
The Sharks became the first SA team to reach the knockout stages of the competition after proving too strong for ill-disciplined Bordeaux in a convincing 32-3 win at Kings Park.
Powell’s troops led 22-0 at half time, before closing out the clash with five tries against the visitors, who copped four yellow cards – two in each half.
The Sharks will travel to England to face Harlequins in their final Pool A encounter next Saturday, and speaking post-match in Durban, Powell told media: “It was a good win, obviously getting five points out of this was important for our journey going forward.
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“It was a goal for this game to get the five points and go with a bit of momentum and flow into this next game with Harlequins.
“Not playing with this particular squad against Connacht [in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last week] contributed to it being a bit scrappy, but hopefully we get all the rustiness off us from this game and then build a little bit on what went well.
“So, happy with the five points but at times a bit frustrating because of how scrappy the game became.
“We were dominant in that first 25, 30 minutes but then got out of structure and attacking shape. It made the game a little bit too loose and played into Bordeaux’s hands, and that’s exactly what they wanted.
“They wanted scrappy ball on the ground, they wanted to kick it through and get turnovers and kick it in behind us and chase. So it’s obviously something we addressed [later in the game] and something we’ll address this week as well, to just be more clinical … and not get sucked into the opposition’s game.
“Also, a lot of ill discipline from Bordeaux made the game quite difficult and scrappy.”
? @SharksRugby have qualified for the #HeinekenChampionsCup Round of 16 after a dominant display against Union Bordeaux-Bègles ?
How far will they go in the competition? ? pic.twitter.com/9m4g0goM5u
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
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The director of rugby added: “Whether we made it into the last 16 or not, it definitely won’t matter how we approach next week’s game.
“There’s still a lot to play for, like getting home knockout games, and getting more points from Harlequins will give us a better opportunity to secure more of those games … looking at the history of the competition, teams that do have a massive advantage.
“So, we’ll enjoy this win tonight and then shift our focus to Harlequins, in different conditions than what we had tonight.”
Powell will be eager for news on the availability of hooker Bongi Mbonambi and fullback Boeta Chamberlain, both of whom came off with what looked to be serious shoulder injuries, while flyhalf Curwin Bosch (hamstring) was a late injury-enforced change.
The Sharks boss said: “[Bosch] picked up a bit of a hammy in the performance session on Thursday; we were hoping he would be ready but unfortunately he didn’t and we didn’t want to risk him.
“The physios are confident he’ll be back next week, but it’s also a case of do we want to risk him or help him recover fully?
“The positive is we’ll have a bit of time before we depart for London, so we’ll do a proper assessment of all our injuries by Monday before we get on the plane.”
? @SharksRugby are loving life in Durban!
Two sensational pickups from Rohan Janse van Rensburg and @SiyaKolisi, who offloads to Marnus Potgieter for the score ?#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/eKqmlm7kEi
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix