Sharks’ tempo too hot to handle as Pietersen breaks down Clermont rout

Sharks coach JP Pietersen praised his players for sticking to a high-tempo game plan that eventually wore Clermont down in Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup clash at Kings Park.

There was little to separate the teams at the break, and the match seemed to be heading for another tight finish in ‘The Tank’, but the home team ran the visitors ragged in an eight-try blitz, completely shutting Clermont out in the second half.

Pietersen said the foundation for the comprehensive 50-12 victory had been laid in the first period.

“It was a nervy start in the beginning, 14-12 at half-time. I think it’s just part of the game. I think the starting team did the job, which was to make Clermont tired and play with a tempo,” he said at the post-match media conference.

“As you could see, there were knock-ons, it looked a bit deurmekaar (scrappy), but it was part of the plan to play them at a high tempo in the Durban heat, kicking off at 3 o’clock.”

He felt that the tempo and the pressure it created also contributed to the two yellow cards and one red shown to the visitors.

“It just comes from the tempo we played, and the accuracy. If you put teams under pressure they are going to give penalties away. If you play fast, it’s going to take them longer to get onside, so you must give credit to us for keeping the tempo and accuracy in our game,” he said.

“I know that feeling on the other side when you’re a bit under the pump – I’ve been in Toulouse – so it’s a good result for us. Normally we struggle to put teams away and we just win games, and it’s good to see that we were a bit ruthless in the last 10 minutes.”

Ultimately, the result was not enough to get the Sharks into the Champions Cup playoffs. Toulouse’s thrashing of Sale catapulted the French giants to second, resigning the Sharks to fifth spot in the group and a place in the Challenge Cup playoffs instead.

“I’ve learnt that to reach the round of 16 you’ve got to win away,” Pietersen said.

“You can see what Bristol did at Loftus, and then they came here and they won. That’s something we need to get better at. As South African teams, we have to win our away games.”

Pietersen will now prepare his team for a tricky trip to Cape Town to face the high-flying Stormers in a United Rugby Championship clash next weekend that forms part of a double-header. The Lions and Bulls also lie in wait as part of a mouthwatering run of URC derbies.