Beast calls for 80-minute effort
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:19
Hands off: Sharks hold onto their star Tendai Mtawarira. (c) Gallo
Tendai Mtawarira, or Beast as he is affectionately known, is a man of few words. So when the gentle giant speaks, his teammates listen.
And Mtawarira has called on the Sharks to produce an "80-minute team effort" in order to turn their season around when they face the Waratahs in a Super 14 Round Four match in Sydney on Saturday.
Following their rather dismal return of just two losing bonus points from the opening three weeks, the demanding Sharks fans have called for heads to roll - with coach John Plumtree top of the list of those they want in front of a firing squad.
However, Mtawarira has called for calm and suggested that the Sharks are closer to the first win than most people realise, adding that a team with as much talent as the Sharks don't suddenly become a bad team overnight.
"We started in a tough place, but we are right there ... we are very close [to turning it around]," he told rugby365.com, when asked about the defeats against the Chiefs, Cheetahs and Crusaders.
He said that with the exception of the last 20 minutes against the Crusaders - when a 13-6 lead for the home team became a 35-6 blowout, two tries in the last 10 minutes - the Sharks definitely haven't played that bad.
"There are just a couple of areas we need to fix and we need to play for 80 minutes, not just 60 minutes," the burly Bok prop told rugby365.com.
He said it is "basic stuff", like keeping the ball in hand and not giving away any silly penalties.
With four more matches on their Australasian tour - the Waratahs this week, followed by the Brumbies, Highlanders and Hurricanes - it could be a very long month.
But they have opted for the tried-and-trusted approach of "one game at a time" to ensure they don't get caught up in any sideshows.
"We certainly can't afford to look past the Waratahs," he said, describing the men from Sydney as a "well-balanced" in their side that can be very unpredictable.
"No doubt we will have to match them in all areas."
He said the key to getting back on the winning track this week would be to stop playing in patches and produced an 80-minute effort.
"That is something we are working towards," he told rugby365.com, when asked about the team gelling into a unit.
"The key is to not perform as individuals, but play together as a unit for the whole 80 minutes. We should not look at how the pack performs, or the backs, but entire unit."
By Jan de Koning