Defence key, says Du Preez

Ken Borland

Sharks coach Robert du Preez said defence was at the hub of his team’s impressive 26-10 win over the Blue Bulls in their Currie Cup match at King’s Park in Durban on Saturday.

The scoreline did not give justice to the threat posed by the Blue Bulls, but some excellent scrambling defence by the Sharks led to a host of handling errors by the visitors.

“I was really pleased with our defence, I thought it was outstanding and it showed the great attitude of the team. I’m happy where we are, the attitude and intent was very good. We created a lot too, although we weren’t great today in terms of conversion rate,” Du Preez said after the game.

While Du Preez was happy his team had started the Currie Cup with a home win, the former Springbok scrumhalf said the Sharks would still need to claim at least one away win in order to make the final again.

“It was a good start at home, you’ve got to win all your games at home, you can’t afford to slip up because the competition is so short.”

Aphelele Fassi’s (above) Currie Cup debut off the bench was particularly thrilling, with the 20-year-old scoring with his first touch and dotting down again with his second, although that try was disallowed by the TMO through no fault of his own. Du Preez said he would have no qualms starting with Fassi.

“He’s a special kid, very talented. We played Aphelele on the wing, but he’s actually a fullback. He just needs to keep working hard and hopefully he will get a start soon,” Du Preez said.