Neil Powell praised the Sharks’ remarkable turnaround in the United Rugby Championship following their 47-20 victory over the Bulls in Durban on Saturday.
The Sharks fired head coach Sean Everitt after successive losses to the Bulls in Pretoria (40-27) and Cardiff Rugby in Durban (34-27). (35-0).
Powell was moved from assistant coach to head coach when the Sharks’ season appeared to be falling apart. Since then, the Sharks have seen a remarkable turnaround, although it must be stated that Powell’s work was made considerably easier by the return of its Springboks.
The Powell team is now fifth in the United Championship standings, trailing the Bulls by only five points with two games in hand over their local rivals.
Powell stated that the Sharks’ dominating 27-point victory against Jake White’s Bulls will boost their quest for a postseason berth.
“It will go a long way for us [the Sharks], so this is a crucial victory. “You want to win all of your home games, so that was fantastic,” Powell stated.
“I believe it is a sign of a confident squad when we accept one or two quick-tap penalties and continue to play in an unpredictable manner. The men have performed admirably. We could have handled the game much better and been much more disciplined in the opening quarter and a half, urged Powell.
When the Sharks entered the Bulls’ half, especially in the final ten minutes of the first half, they played exceptionally well.
Powell added: “Hopefully, as the season progresses, we [the Sharks] will be able to execute like that for the entire match and not just a portion of it.” Last weekend, I had the same impression about the Lions.
We shall strive for greater consistency throughout the entire match, not only at select points.
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