{"id":155137,"date":"2020-01-22T10:29:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T08:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/on-track-featured-durban-blog\/"},"modified":"2020-01-22T10:29:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T08:29:14","slug":"on-track-featured-durban-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/on-track-featured-durban-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"On Track \u2013 Featured Durban Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Track<\/a>: <\/p>\n

While the Cell C Sharks may have been pipped by just two points in our Superhero Sunday clash with the DHL Stormers, there were many highlights to take positives out of.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy with the outcome of the game and what it produced,\u201d explained Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt after the match. \u201cThis was a warm-up game for us \u2013 a practice match \u2013 and there were a lot of positives to take out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In particular, the Stormers pack, so highly-rated, was never able to exert pressure on the Cell C forwards who in fact managed a scrum penalty. The lineout work in training bore fruit and the driving maul delivered gains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought our set-piece functioned really well in the first half,\u201d Everitt said. \u201cAs well as from an attack and defence point of view. Unfortunately from some really good maul defence we leaked a soft try and an opportunistic try in the second half.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I thought our defence was really good, we got off the line well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The art of fetching, where a player, often a flank, competes for the ball on the ground, hasn\u2019t always received a lot of attention, but it is an area the Cell C Sharks have worked on, and the gains made proved invaluable in this match.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe breakdown work that we\u2019ve put a lot of work into during the off-season came to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we are happy, I don\u2019t think we will take anything out of the result, it was three tries apiece and hopefully the spectators enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coach also agreed that the intensity from the players was commendable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very happy with the intensity shown, the conditions weren\u2019t easy, to play at one o\u2019clock up on the highveld coming from Durban is tough, but I thought our guys did well. When we changed the team and brought the guys off the bench, they also lifted the energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the game wore on we made a few mistakes, but there is no excuse for that because the guys were fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assessing the squad available, he gave this a big thumbs up. In particular the returning Springboks who have added huge amounts of value, both at training and in this match.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy with the personnel we have and very happy with the individual performances out there. There is always a lot to work on when it comes to games, but certainly there were a lot more positives than negatives. The individuals put their hands up and we can see why certain players were in the World Cup Final \u2013 they shone out there and showed why they are World Cup champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we are very happy with that and the way the Springboks have come back and been so positive.\u201d With this match being the last hit-out before the Cell C Sharks host the Vodacom Bulls in the opening Vodacom Super Rugby match of the 2020 season, Everitt added that, \u201cYes, I think we\u2019re just about ready to go. We just need to polish a few things before the match, but we have two weeks for that.\u201d <\/p>\n

The post On Track<\/a> appeared first on The Sharks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Making His Mark<\/a>: <\/p>\n

24-year-old Ox Nche came to The Sharks from the Cheetahs late last year and can\u2019t wait to get his teeth into Vodacom Super Rugby sporting a black and white jersey in 2020.<\/p>\n

His pedigree suggests that Retshegofaditswe (his real name) has the ability to be a real force on the South African rugby landscape, having represented the country at SA Schools, SA Under 20, SA \u2018A\u2019 and Springbok level, but for now, his focus is on the Cell C Sharks and making a positive contribution to his new team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m enjoying everything here in Durban, although the downside is the weather, I\u2019m not used to the heat and humidity yet, but otherwise I\u2019m loving it here,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no specific reason for me leaving the Cheetahs, but I guess there comes a time for you to explore and see what else is out there,\u201d he explains of his move. \u201cThe Cheetahs have been good to me and I enjoyed my time there, but I felt that it was time to make a move and explore new horizons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vodacom Super Rugby is just around the corner, just two weeks away, and after a tough pre-season, he can\u2019t wait to get stuck into the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited, I have played Super Rugby before and I\u2019ve learned a lot in the Pro 14, particularly the set-piece, but I am very excited to be playing Super Rugby again, it\u2019s a special competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having played in both major competitions, arguably amongst the toughest in world rugby, he is able to discuss the vagaries of the two tournaments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn position-specific terms, they are different because the Pro 14 is much more set-piece orientated and it\u2019s often the tight five and forwards getting the momentum and winning games whereas in Super Rugby, everyone gets a touch of the ball,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to that challenge, that\u2019s why we play rugby: to compete against the best and get better ourselves. I\u2019m excited!\u201d<\/p>\n

The style of play employed by the Cell C Sharks is something that attracted him to Durban in the first place and he believes his abilities and experience will fit in perfectly with head coach Sean Everitt\u2019s rugby philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sharks have always had a well-balanced game-plan where both the forwards and backs get to run with the ball; add to that a good kicking game and I feel that if we can dominate the opposition \u2013 the backs and forwards \u2013 then I think we\u2019ll do pretty well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The post Making His Mark<\/a> appeared first on The Sharks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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On Track: While the Cell C Sharks may have been pipped by just two points in our Superhero Sunday clash with the DHL Stormers, there were many highlights to take positives out of. \u201cWe\u2019re happy with the outcome of the game and what it produced,\u201d explained Cell C Sharks head coach Sean Everitt after the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18],"tags":[8275,3335,953],"class_list":{"0":"post-155137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-durban","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-mydurban-co-za","9":"tag-newspaper","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}