Notshe urges Sharks to not blame weather
AS luck would have it, there is a thunderstorm predicted for Friday night in Durban when the Dragons come to town for a United Rugby Championship fixture.
And if it comes to pass, it will be the third game in a row the Sharks have played in heavy rain, but they cannot blame poor performances on the weather, according to No 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe.
Last week, the Sharks lost dismally to the Free State Cheetahs in a Currie Cup match played in rain on Wednesday, and then on Saturday, Edinburgh sunk the Sharks in torrential rain.
“We must never let this weather be an excuse,” Notshe said. “We are playing at home in front of our people and we must always have energy.
“We must control what we can control ... we can’t control the weather. We must not be a side that makes excuses and waits for a sunny day in Durban before we perform well – we must express ourselves whatever the conditions.”
There has doubtless been some intense introspection at the Shark Tank in the wake of the 21-5 loss to the Scots, and Notshe has an explanation for what went wrong. “It comes down to individual errors,” the 28-year-old said.
“The biggest thing we have to get right is eliminating so many individual mistakes. We need to clean up our personal games.”
After the match, Sean Everitt
* lamented his team’s inability to finish after having done decent phase work, and Notshe concurs with the coach.
“Our conversion rate in the opposition 22 is not great. We know how to get there, but then our finishing lets us down,” he said.
“That will be fixed by time in the saddle, time on the training pitch. It is an area of the game that will come right for us.”
Perhaps Friday night will be the night, and the Dragons could ship another glut of tries after the Bulls put eight past them at the weekend, but Notshe waves a hand of caution.
“One thing I have learned the hard way in this competition is to never underestimate anybody. The scoreboard does not reflect it, but they put up a fight in Pretoria,” Notshe said.
“If we go into the game and expect a rollover, then we will be in trouble. We will do our homework and hopefully get the ‘W’ on Friday night.”
On the personal front, Notshe has been a shining light for the Sharks since making his comeback just over a month ago after nearly a year on the sidelines.
“The road to recovery was a tough one, but I had the best rehab at the Sharks,” Notshe said. “I am not back to my best, and am still working on my game.
“What I am trying to do is focus on the things that people don’t see, like getting myself into a position to make tackles or setting a maul.
“I am making sure I do the industrial work, because the other parts of my game come naturally. I know I have X-factor, so I don’t need to focus on that.”