Shark Tank a reprieve from ‘crazy Scots, Irishmen’

Defence coach Joey Mongalo says the Sharks are hungry to feed off the energy at Kings Park against Ospreys on Friday night, after a successful two-match tour of the UK.

The Durbanites beat Edinburgh and Ulster, results that consolidated their fourth-place position on the Vodacom URC table with two rounds left of the league stages.

While their performances were far from polished, Mongalo believes those results reflect the mindset of the group.

“It has been gritty, not pretty, but it says a lot about the character of the team,” he was quoted by IOL. “The cohesion we want is not far off.”

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Their return home marks a welcome change for the Sharks, who battled freezing conditions and passionate away crowds overseas. With only two home losses this season, Mongalo said the ‘Tank’ remains a key advantage.

“We’re home at last,” he added. “Back at the stadium we love, after playing in front of thousands of crazy Scots and Irishmen. Now we want to flip that — hear our crowd when we attack or defend. That buzz lifts us.”

Mongalo is confident that the return of several Springboks, who missed the early part of the campaign, will now help the team hit their stride a the business end of the season.

“We were always going to have this dynamic because we did not have a pre-season with our Boks,” he said. “Only recently have we had the whole group together. We’re having that ‘pre-season’ now, in real time.”

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He also pointed to the disruptive effect of injuries to key players, highlighting what the Sharks gain with a full-strength squad.

“[Aphelele] Fassi has magic in him. If we can isolate him one-on-one, he’ll likely score,” Mongalo said. “And against Edinburgh, Andre [Esterhuizen] held up three attackers by himself — only he can do that. If you miss three or four of those players, that’s a big chunk of your spark gone.”

“We’ve been pushing a rock up a hill. I think we’re close to lifting it over and letting it roll down the other side.”

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Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images