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Gold defends flyhalf Pietersen

Cape Town - Flyhalf Joe Pietersen missed a relatively easy, and potentially crucial, penalty kick after the hooter in the Sharks’ 37-27 loss to Western Province on Saturday.

Had Pietersen slotted the penalty then the Sharks would have secured a losing bonus point. It may not seem worth much with four rounds of fixtures left to play, but with the Sharks just a point ahead of the Free State Cheetahs it may prove to be an important moment come the end of the season.

But coach Gary Gold was not unhappy with Pietersen’s missed effort at all.

“Only time will tell. Every point is precious at the moment when you’re not playing with huge amounts of confidence … but at least we’re still in the fight,” Gold said after the match.

“I’d rather spend time focusing on all the many, many kicks that Joe has kicked for us. I’m not bothered about that, we shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place.

“I was quite happy with his general play, I think he did some good things.”

The Sharks next travel to Johannesburg on Saturday for a date with the table-topping Golden Lions. 

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