GRIQUAS ON SHARK ALERT
THE WINDHOEK Draught Griquas Currie Cup season didn’t get off to the start they hoped when they lost 42-19 to the Free State Cheetahs in the opening game of the 2023 Currie Cup competition.
Therefore, with the team playing the Cell C Sharks this Sunday, they will surely be working on certain areas of their game that they saw needed some work.
Griquas assistant coach Barend Pieterse said during a media briefing this week that there were a few areas they were not happy with, but that they have worked on those easily fixable flaws this week, saying it is not an issue that will keep them up at night.
“A lot of the things came down to physicality, and they were much better than us on the day; their attacking and defense breakdown work was very good, and silly mistakes that we made that caused us to fall behind on the points,” said Pieterse.
Meanwhile, Griquas hooker Gustav du Rand said that he has been through one Currie Cup season with the Griquas and has learned a lot in that season.
“The Sharks were here not long ago for a warm-up game
where we beat them 28-7, and chatting to some of the players after the game, I was told that they do not like it here due to the hot and dry weather we have,” Du Rand said.
“This game is a personal one for me since I come from there. It will be nice playing against some of the guys I've played with in the past,” he added.
“I think we (Griquas) are well prepared for this game, as we have increased our intensity during training.”
Coach Pieterse, picking up on his hooker’s comments, said that the temperature on Sunday will be around 34–35 degrees Celsius and that they will want to speed up the game because he believes the Sharks will struggle to maintain their intensity in the heat.
“We will manage the game; we will make it as fast as we can, but we want to manage the game and players well in the heat,” said Pieterse.
Sunday’s game at Windhoek Draught Park kicks off at 4pm, and with enough cheering from their supporters the home team are practically sure of claiming their first points of the season.