Sharks coach JP Pietersen proud of fight shown by youngsters against Sale

Social media suggests that Sharks fans are growing impatient with their team losing, but it is not all doom and gloom after the weekend’s 26-10 Champions Cup defeat to Sale.

JP Pietersen took a mostly youthful team to Manchester because he needed to rest overplayed Springboks such as Andre Esterhuizen and Ethan Hooker, both of whom played below their high standards in the loss to the Lions.

Most of the weekend’s players gave a decent account of themselves, and the silver lining to the cloud of defeat is that the Sharks finished the match with 10 players under the age of 23, and they will have benefited hugely from the experience.

Pietersen is building a side for the future while trying to win at the same time, and he will feel that sometimes you have to first take a step backward so that you can take two forward.

For instance, Manu Tshituka was excellent against Sale but would not have been picked at flank if the Sharks were fielding a full-strength team. The younger Tshituka brother took his opportunity splendidly.

He carried the ball 10 times, made 52m, beat five defenders, and scored a try. Tshituka almost made eight tackles.

Another loose forward, Nick Hatton, was also in the thick of it. The captain made the most tackles (14), took the most lineout balls (7), and his eight carries were the fifth most.

Veteran Vincent Koch showed he is far from finished at age 35 with a powerful scrumming performance, while the scrumhalf, Ross Braude, had a polished first-half performance.

The Sharks are not yet done with the Champions Cup. This week they host a likely under-strength Clermont team (the French club is bottom of Pool 1, with no wins, and have probably written off the tournament to focus on the Top 14).

The Sharks will bring back their Boks this week, and a victory over Clermont at Kings Park will keep them alive in the Champions Cup.

Pietersen said his team arrives home with heads held high.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed that we didn’t get the result,” Pietersen said. “But I’m also proud of the boys for fighting for the full 80 minutes. It’s a young group, but there’s a good mix of youth and experience, and we gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game.

“To be away from home and only 7-3 down at half-time, I just saw the fight in the group.”

The game’s watershed came early in the second half when Sale enjoyed a two-try burst.

“There was a lack of concentration in those 15 minutes after half-time,” said Pietersen. “They scored two quick tries, which gave us a bit of a mountain to climb.

“We fought back and got the score to 19-10, and you could see there was belief and hope in the group. Then there was another unfortunate moment where they scored again and put it a bit out of our reach.

“But if you look at the whole game, I asked the group whether we could fight from minute one to minute 80, and they showed that. We played some good rugby.”

“I’m excited about what this group can still give and what they can still do,” he said. “There are a lot of positives we can take from this week into next week when we play Clermont at home.

“I’m obviously disappointed we didn’t get the result, but the boys are making the Sharks jersey proud.”