Shortened preparation costs Sharks
When you have to travel for a match, missing your flight comes across as a bad omen.
It proved to be the case for the Taranaki Sharks on Sunday when they were dealt a 46-16 loss by the Canterbury Development team in Christchurch in the final match of their national rugby league championship campaign.
Missing their connecting flight from Auckland on Sunday morning and having to take a later one, the Sharks arrived in Christchurch just 30 minutes before kick off, which trainer Greg Davis said affected the team’s performance.
‘‘Our build up wasn’t as good as it could have been and fatigue really took it’s toll,’’ Davis said.
The Taranaki side started the match well, completing their sets and defending their line well.
The return of Mark Davis to the halves strengthened the Taranaki attack, giving the team more direction and proving to be a threat down what ever side of the pitch he chose to attack.
The sides went back and forth through the opening 40 minutes, with the Sharks trailing 18-10 at the half time break. However, Davis said fatigue set in during the second half as the team’s play collectively dropped.
With the fatigue came an increase in errors in the second period of play, with the Taranaki side dropping the ball early in the tackle count and bombing three tries by failing to hold on to the ball.
The hosts took advantage of this and outscored the Sharks 28-6 in the second half, scoring some soft tries up the middle of the park from close range.
Davis said the Taranaki side showed they were up for the challenge in the first half and the final score didn’t really do them justice. ’’They were a team that we could have beaten with less errors and better preparation, but that’s hindsight.’’
Davis highlighted both Charles Walters and Mark Davis as standouts for the Shark on the day, with Davis controlling the play and Walters running hard to claim two tries on the wing.