Sharks forced to settle for draw

THE Sharks tried their best to give the Waratahs their first win in Durban since 2009 but they had to settle for a 24-all draw at King’s Park on Saturday.

The hosts held the aces for the better part of the game but often found ways to bring the visitors back into the game with needless mistakes.

Sharks coach Robert du Preez said they played too much rugby and their game management was substandard.

His namesake son Robert du Preez‚ who started at flyhalf‚ was the chief culprit.

He kicked the ball away aimlessly and his faulty tactical kicking often relieved the pressure on the visitors‚ who were equally poor. “We let them off the hook too many times because the game was there for the taking.

“We were just impatient at times. Right till the death‚ we tried to play too much rugby instead of slowing the game down‚” Du Preez said.

“We had quite a few opportunities we didn’t take and our game management was poor.”

Former All Black centre and current Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson was far more frank and forthcoming about his team’s shortcomings in their past two games.

Against two South African teams‚ they have collected six points from a possible 10. They beat the Stormers at home last week.

“We were poor, to be honest. We lack ball control and we put ourselves under pressure through turnovers. I’m not happy with the performance‚” Gibson said.