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Cape Town - Sharks forwards coach Brad Macleod-Henderson wants his team to start better in their next Currie Cup clash against the Free State Cheetahs.
The Sharks started poorly in their first two outings of the competition. They trailed 13-0 early in their first game against Griquas before finding their feet. It was only a last-gasp try which gave the men from Kimberley a shock 32-30 win.
And in their 33-25 win over the Golden Lions last Friday they also trailed 17-6 in the first half, before striking back.
Therefore, Macleod-Henderson has called on his players to start fast in Bloemfontein this week.
"It is worrying, we haven’t started these first two games well and it’s something we need to address," he told the Sharks website.
"It’s tough to pinpoint, I thought the first half was all ours, one try was an interception in their own half when we had numbers on the outside, the other was four guys bearing down on two Lions players and they managed to get away and run 95m to score.
“But the character shown was fantastic. When you’re 17-6 down and playing all the rugby, you might think the whole world is against you, but the boys stood up and fought back and got a great win.”
On the injury front, fullback Odwa Ndungane pulled a hamstring and will probably miss the next two to three weeks while flank Jean Deysel and lock Marco Wentzel have a couple of bumps and bruises.
“But we hope to have Tim Whitehead and Sizo Maseko back for the next game and Keegan Daniel should hopefully also be back for selection as well, that’s a big bonus," said Macleod-Henderson.
Friday's clash at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 19:00.
The Sharks started poorly in their first two outings of the competition. They trailed 13-0 early in their first game against Griquas before finding their feet. It was only a last-gasp try which gave the men from Kimberley a shock 32-30 win.
And in their 33-25 win over the Golden Lions last Friday they also trailed 17-6 in the first half, before striking back.
Therefore, Macleod-Henderson has called on his players to start fast in Bloemfontein this week.
"It is worrying, we haven’t started these first two games well and it’s something we need to address," he told the Sharks website.
"It’s tough to pinpoint, I thought the first half was all ours, one try was an interception in their own half when we had numbers on the outside, the other was four guys bearing down on two Lions players and they managed to get away and run 95m to score.
“But the character shown was fantastic. When you’re 17-6 down and playing all the rugby, you might think the whole world is against you, but the boys stood up and fought back and got a great win.”
On the injury front, fullback Odwa Ndungane pulled a hamstring and will probably miss the next two to three weeks while flank Jean Deysel and lock Marco Wentzel have a couple of bumps and bruises.
“But we hope to have Tim Whitehead and Sizo Maseko back for the next game and Keegan Daniel should hopefully also be back for selection as well, that’s a big bonus," said Macleod-Henderson.
Friday's clash at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 19:00.
