JP Pietersen's challenge fires up Ganyane and Hatton as Sharks stun Stormers in URC

Sharks coach JP Pietersen threw down the gauntlet to prop Phatu Ganyane and loose-forward Nick Hatton ahead of Saturday’s crunch United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Stormers in Cape Town this past weekend — and he was proud of the way the young duo responded against their much-vaunted rivals.

The visitors claimed a famous first victory at the DHL Stadium in the URC-era, powering to a 30-19 bonus-point win in front of a sold-out crowd.

Loosehead prop Ganyane enjoyed a strong 30-minute cameo from the start — Pietersen did not reveal if the move was borrowed from Rassie Erasmus’ Bok playbook — before the Junior Bok made way for Springbok powerhouse Ox Nche.

His battle against veteran Bok tighthead Neethling Fouché in the scrums was crucial, as the youngster helped lay the foundation for a dominant forward display by the visitors.

Hatton, meanwhile, was immense in all facets of his play across the 80 minutes.

“If you look at the game of Phatu, if he was on the bench he would probably have played 10 minutes max,” Pietersen said at the post-match conference.

“I asked Phatu and Nick Hatton in the week: ‘Can you challenge yourself against a Neethling — a Springbok?’ I told Phatu he was going to play for 30 minutes and asked if he could give it all for that time and challenge himself against the best team in the URC. Can you challenge yourself to compete? Because we want to see as coaches if you can do it.

“The same for Nick Hatton against Paul de Villiers and them—I asked if he could put his hand up and compete, because we’ve got good loosies.

“I know what I’ve got in the Boks. I know what I’ve got in Vincent Tshituka, in Phepsi (Buthelezi), I know what I’ve got in Siya Kolisi. I just need to find out with Nick Hatton and Phatu if they can compete and fight for the minutes they get. It’s a massive confidence boost for us going forward that the guys are putting their hands up.”

The Sharks will be hoping for more of the same when they host their bruised coastal rivals in the return fixture at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday (5pm kick-off), as they continue their push for a play-off place that seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago.