Defence coach: Sharks still confident after Leinster loss, but Lyon win would boost team

As the Sharks look to defend their Challenge Cup title starting with a round of 16 match against Lyon this weekend, defence coach Joey Mongalo has said their confidence is not low after last weekend’s defeat.

However, he said a victory by any margin against Lyon would boost the side for their quarter-final the following week and away games to Edinburgh and Ulster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) the following two weeks.

The Sharks lost 10–7 to a second-string Leinster side at home in the URC even though the Bulls got one over the Irish team a week earlier. It was the first defeat the Sharks suffered in the competition at home.

Positives from first URC home defeat

Despite losing two tries to one in the low-scoring game, Mongalo said the Sharks’ kicking and game management were “9/10 right”.

“There was probably one area or one part of the game where we played in a manner where we didn’t want to but besides that we did well,” he said.

“In attack, we created a whole lot of opportunities, which is something any attack coach takes pride in. We just didn’t finish some of them so it is about executing more than the actual attack, which is good.”

He said the Sharks were good in defence as well, with their holding Leinster off the try line for three minutes saying much about the cohesion and drive of the side.

“[It showed] they are growing and how much care they are building for others as this season progresses.”

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Sharks look at quality of performance as well as result

For this reason, the coach said the Sharks are a group that takes results into context.

“So that team we played against, irrespective of the [missing] internationals, is a top-quality team. You saw that by the way the Bulls at Loftus had to kick a penalty in the last minute to win.

“[It’s] definitely not a confidence drop, just some time to do some introspection to see where we can do better.”

He said a good performance against Lyon would also boost them for their next fixture.

“Wins in any environment give confidence. But not just wins, also the quality of the performance.

“Irrespective of what the scoreboard looks like, for us internally the quality of the performance is what we want to use as a measure and marker of where we are at.”