Tiatia defends Sunwolves' Super Rugby status

The Sunwolves were smashed 7-94 against the Lions in Johannesburg and on Saturday they went down 15-52 to the Stormers in Cape Town. It must be said that the Japanese did put up a bigger fight against Robbie Fleck's side.

Out of their 14 matches this year the Sunwolves have won just one match, which was against the Bulls in Tokyo.

"Should the Sunwolves be in Super Rugby? The [the answer is] 100 percent," Tiatia told reporters after his side's loss to the Stormers. "We know need to be better."

Tiatia said his team are still coming to terms with the rigours of Super Rugby. 

"I think we can certainly be better. We got a lot of young guys who have never played at this level before. I am finding out a lot about these players also around the structures that we have in place and how we can improve that as well. 

"We got a lot of players that have never been exposed to skills coaching. Just little things like that… How they can improve, preparation and playing in a high-performance competition like Super Rugby," Tiatia added.

Although they conceded eight tries, the Sunwolves were much better in Cape Town and Tiatia was pleased with the character his team showed at Newlands.

"Tonight [Saturday] was a better performance," said Tiatia. "I wasn't too worried about the Stormers around what they did. It was more about what we had to show.

"We certainly showed real character and heart. We stayed in the fight in long passages of plays. In reflection, it was better, but we know there is more in the tank for the last game against the Blues back in Tokyo."

By Warren Fortune

@FortuneWarren

@rugby365com