Ayanda Malinga scored two tries for the Bulls Daisies against the Sharks Women this past weekend. Photo: BackpagePix
The Sharks Women were thrashed 69-5 by the Bulls Daisies in the Women’s Premier Division at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Sharks coach JC Hector feels that there are plenty of lessons to be learnt from facing the runaway log leaders.
“It was good to play against them to see how we measure up and how other teams measured up. Of the big lesson that we learnt, a lot of it was more mental,” he said.
“It was good to see where the girls fell short, especially under pressure.”
The Daisies scored 11 unanswered tries before a late charge by the Sharks pack rewarded them with a maul try near the end of the game.
It was almost a point a minute for the home side in the first half and their 38-0 lead at the break was good value for their effort.
Wings Patience Makone (four) and Ayanda Malinga (two) scored six of those, benefiting from countless overlaps created by the free-flowing attack by the Daisies. The Sharks had their moments in this match, but apart from the last 10 minutes of the match, they failed to deal with the pace and power of the home side.
“I think there were some great positives. When we tried to execute a kicking game there were rewards,” Hector said.
“I think in the second half their confidence started to grow. All of a sudden we were mauling from line-outs. We were winning our line-out balls consistently.”
Hector has called for more consistency among the Sharks, especially under pressure. The Sharks mentor was worried by the high penalty count. By the 56th minute the KZN side had conceded 17 penalties.
“We knew the Bulls had a massive set piece. The majority of penalties occurred at the scrum and at the maul.
“When it comes to maul defence, the Bulls are incredibly difficult to stop. Then obviously we conceded a couple of penalties at the breakdown, going into contact,” he said.
“So, we will have to tighten up, especially the technical aspect of maul defence. But it’s going to take time.”
The young coach, who is new to the role, admitted that his players may have been intimidated by all the Springboks in the Bulls squad. But he was proud of the resilience they showed to “stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes”.
The diminutive Anesipho Malgas was singled out for her bravery against the big Bulls ball carriers. Mbali Bukhososini’s work rate and Setty Dlamini’s line-out work were also noted.
“Obviously, with our Springboks, (flyhalf) Mary Zulu also had a few great moments with her ability to control the game with her boot,” Hector said.
“Tayla (Kinsey, the scrumhalf) also showed great leadership. She was always calm, keeping them in the fight, keeping them believing.”
The Daisies and Sanlam Boland Dames moved clear of the chasing pack in the Women’s Premier Division at the weekend. The Dames settled into second place on the log after outplaying the Border Ladies in their 48-13 win in East London.
Western Province and the Free State Women also secured their first away wins as the competition moved past the halfway stage.
The Daisies have now scored 278 points in four matches, conceding only 32 in the process. This weekend is a bye weekend in the competition with the Springbok Women in camp this week.