JP Pietersen praises Sharks’ fight after late Lions try denies them URC victory

Sharks head coach JP Pietersen praised his charges for the fighting spirit they had shown to claw their way back into Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions after falling 15-0 behind early in the contest at Kings Park.

The Sharks seemed to have the points in the bag, until a late Lions try denied Pietersen a third win in a row as Sharks head coach.

“To come back from 15-0 and to be in the game, and the way we played, I’m extremely proud of the boys,” he said at the post-match media conference.

“It’s rugby, it’s unpredictable. Like I said, it’s a local derby. You must give credit to the Lions, they’ve been good. When they got opportunities, they finished them and it was just a good game of rugby.”

The Sharks had trailed 18-17 at the break, eventually falling 23-22 to a Haashim Pead try for the visitors after the hooter. But there were opportunities for Pietersen’s charges to extend their lead to seven points after they hit the front for the first time in the 58th minute. They won a scrum penalty in front of the posts but opted to go for another scrum and the opportunity went begging.

Asked if the decision had ultimately cost his team all five points, Pietersen said: “I won’t say it was costly. We had two disallowed tries and if we had scored those two tries, or if you go for the scrum and Andre (Esterhuizen) scores, it’s a different story. It’s part of the game and we live and learn. 

“In hindsight, we take the three points, they miss the kick (final conversion) and we win so it makes sense. I won’t say that is the defining moment of the game.”