Sharks celebrate… (Gallo Images)
- The Sharks were the talk of the town before the Covid-19 pandemic ended the 2020 Super Rugby season.
- Stand-off Curwin Bosch has settled at No 10 but his versatility in having also played fullback allows him to understand different positional needs.
- World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi have brought a winning aura to Kings Park.
Before Super Rugby was cut tragically short, the Sharks were the talk of the town, playing a winning yet debonair brand of rugby.
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A lot of it was because of an electrifying backline, commandeered by flyhalf Curwin Bosch, who had some fighter jets in the wings and a special young talent, Aphelele Fassi, at fullback. They were on course for a playoff place, at the very least, and a possible home final seeding. But Covid-19 stole all the joy.
Sharks backline coach Dave Williams broke down how they manufactured this year’s winning game plan. He said having a good blend of players playing in preferred positions, but also being conscious of the requirements of other positions, had accentuated each player’s capabilities.
“Continuity in a position you enjoy, you get to feel comfortable in it,” said Williams.
“From the pictures that are created in front of you each game, you start to pick up those cues and you react to them. But, in the long term over your career, playing in other positions does give you versatility.
“You get to know what it feels like. Fassi sometimes at training steps into the 10 position and he gets a good feel of what other guys require. So, I think there are two sides to it.
“Someone like (England coach) Eddie Jones, where he is going now is having players that can play different positions because of things like salary caps and budget cuts.
“I’d be so excited to see someone like S’bu Nkosi play at 13. Having played on the wing, he knows what it feels like and what a wing needs in terms of creating space and communication.
“He’s not shy on the physical stuff either.”
Williams credited the environment built by Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee, which he said allowed creativity to flourish.
It helped, too, that the Sharks welcomed back Springbok World Cup-winners such as Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi and Thomas du Toit, who brought about a certain aura to Kings Park.
“The guys from the World Cup Springbok team, when they walked back into the Sharks and when we traveled to New Zealand and Australia, they brought such a winning aura,” Williams said.
“Winning begets winning, as they say. When they are doing their warm-up, the opposition are watching these guys as well and it’s because of that aura.
“We speak about winning two games at the weekend: we want to win on the scoreboard – sometimes we’ll lose that – and we must win the identity game as well, which is something we should never lose.
“The Hurricanes game was probably our best rugby game but it was the one game this year that we lost on the scoreboard.”
The rest of the Sharks team picked up a lot of their cues from their leader Am, whom Williams said added even more value to the team as captain.
“He’s obviously seen a lot of captains come through the Sharks and watched them from the background,” he said.
“He’s picked up some good traits and work-ons from each of those captains.
“Lukhanyo is one person that’s carried a winning mentality back to the Sharks. The World Cup stood him in good stead on and off the field, and in his interaction with referees.
“The person that he is, he’s added so much value to the team as captain.”
