The Under-18A Sharks started this year’s Craven Week strongly before losing by 10 points to Western Province on the first day of the tournament.
The ongoing tournament is being held at Hoërskool Monument in Krugersdorp from June 24-28.
After holding a commanding 13-0 half-time lead, the Sharks found themselves fighting a rear-guard blitzkrieg in the second half and ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline.
KZN assistant coach Njabulo Zulu praised his side for the strong start but lamented not capitalising on it.
“We were disappointed with the result after a strong 13-0 start. We stressed to play in the right areas and that was evident early on as we were rewarded with a two-score lead. We spoke about emotional energy because we know how good the Western Province are and they never say die.”
Zulu said his charges had made too many infringements and given away too many penalties. They lost the game, but he said they would regroup and move on to the match against South Western Districts Eagles, which they did win.
Of the Province defeat, captain and utility forward Carlyle Hawkins said: “I think it was a tightly contested game that went back and forth. We had the game, but we lost against ourselves as we gave away far too many penalties.
“This loss is on us.”
He said they had known of the challenge that awaited them as Western Province have gone undefeated at Craven Week for the last four years.
“We didn’t look at ourselves as underdogs but others did, understandably. We knew it was going to be a tough game and knew that the team with the least mistakes would emerge victorious. Our goal was to be that team to make the fewest mistakes, but that didn’t happen and that’s the position we find ourselves in heading into the next game,” said Hawkins.
He emphasised that the battle had been lost through the number of penalties and errors his side committed. Nonetheless, he praised the side for the way they played with ball in hand and when they were on the attack, adding that his team matched Western Province in terms of defence, only to be let down by small errors.
Hawkins said they would make amends in their second match.
Sharks...............26 Western Province.................36
Sharks...............28 SWD Eagles...........................19
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