Muir elated with 'conservative' Sharks
Mon, 12 May 2008 11:36
Sharks coach Dick Muir was smiling after his team managed to secure the all-important bonus point against the Cheetahs on Saturday that gives the Durban franchise a chance of making the play-offs.
The 33-14 victory over the Cheetahs meant that the Sharks have now beaten every South African side in the Super 14 for two years running. More importantly it gives the Sharks an opportunity of making the semifinals.
"Everyone is elated," admitted the relieved Sharks coach.
"But the important thing to understand is that we have a huge challenge on Saturday [against the Chiefs].
"The Chiefs are riddled with superstars, they have game-breakers and it’s going to be a helluva game," added Muir.
Muir said that his team treated the Cheetahs game as a knockout match. In theory it was as a loss would have ended their chances of making a semifinal.
"This week was a knockout for us and the approach next week will be no different," said Muir.
"We treated the Crusaders match as a knockout, so we knew this last phase of the tournament would be down to wire. The Crusaders result was the difference between a home and away semi. Now it's about survival," he stressed.
Muir also admitted that the character of the side really came to the fore in the final moments of the game and that gave him plenty of satisfaction.
Odwa Ndungane crossed the line twice in the final few minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
"What was special for me was that last try, the guys showed spirit and commitment as a team," he said.
"They tried to score as many as they could, in the last 10 minutes they upped the intensity, and perhaps if we'd gone in more positive at the beginning of the season instead of being more careful things might have been different," he added.
The four try bonus point on Saturday was only the second of the Sharks' campaign and Muir admitted that his team played too conservatively in the earlier rounds.
"We over-concentrated our efforts on a wet slippery ball in the earlier stages in Durban," admitted Muir.
"Perhaps if we had taken more risks and looked for the bonus points that might have been a better approach, but we knew we had to build as the season goes.
"One thing we have to understand is that with the lack of experience we have, there was always going to be inconsistency, we've had to take it game by game. But a lot of players would have grown in stature from this result.
"It's a cliche to talk about a young group, but they proved on Saturday there is a lot to come, exciting things because we have such a good group of players.
Muir concluded that the final round of the competition is set to be extremely exciting, with as many as six teams vying for second, third and fourth spot.
"This competition is unbelievable, it will certainly go down to the wire," he concluded.
With thanks to sharksrugby.co.za
