Du Toit ‘could be best in the world’
DU PREEZ: SHARKS COACH PULLED OFF A MASTERSTROKE
Ken Borland
Sharks coach Robert du Preez admitted to mistakes in the build-up to the Bulls game a fortnight ago, but one thing he won’t exchange for anything is the decision to move Thomas du Toit to tighthead, with the former Springbok saying the 22-year-old could become the best No 3 in the world.
Du Toit scored the crucial try and anchored a Sharks scrum that held up well as the home team edged a fierce battle with the Stormers, 24-17, at King’s Park at the weekend.
“I’ve always said Thomas is an incredible talent and you just have to persevere, he had to really get his head down. It’s easy to make changes after one or two games that haven’t gone well, but Thomas showed that he can be the best tighthead in the world,” Du Preez said.
As intense and motivated as the Sharks were against the Stormers, so flat they were against the Bulls and Du Preez admitted that their training the week after coming back from a four-week overseas tour had been too intense.
“In hindsight, the loss to the Bulls was partly because we worked the players too hard after a long tour. It takes time to get back into rhythm with the time zones and everything. So this week we made sure their energy levels were back up and that made the difference. As bad as last week’s showing was, the way they came back from that was outstanding,” Du Preez said.
The coach said the bar has now been set in terms of performance for the Sharks as they try and nail down a play-off berth.
“I was very happy, I thought it was a great performance, but we can’t go backwards now, we’ve got to build on that display. I know we left a couple of tries out there and we can be more patient. There were a couple of 50/50 offloads, but it was a great effort.
“It was very tough against a team that was also desperate to win and all-in-all we played a good game of rugby, especially when we were able to string multiple phases together,” Du Preez said.