The SWD Eagles racked up another home win when they beat the Griffons 20-13 (17-0) in their Absa Currie Cup First Division match at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday night – but, said manager Martin de Vos, the team is still looking to improve its performance.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start,” he said. “But after that, and exactly as we did against Boland, we tended to fall behind when we needed to finish off – and we need to avoid doing this in the future.”
The Griffons came out fighting in the second half, and Mr. de Vos said that the Eagles had their work cut out in defence.
“Nevertheless, we held on and we have the win and we have the four points – but we also know what we have to work on when we prepare for the game against the Falcons in Kempton Park this weekend.”
SWD Eagles coach Johan Lerm said that the performance of the players last Friday showed that they are positive and ready for the Falcons.
“We worked hard to rectify the mistakes of the week before, knowing that we need to keep to our structures, and to be more patient close to the try line.
“Although the players struggled a bit with their rhythm in the second quarter of the game – which had a lot to do with the number of penalties – the perfect ending to the game (when they kept the ball, kept the ball, kept the ball, and then only kicked it out after the final whistle) showed that they’ve got total guts and commitment.”
Mr. de Vos said that damage to wing Alshaun Bock’s thumb was the only injury of major concern on Friday.
“He’ll be medically assessed first thing on Monday morning, and then we’ll decide how he’ll approach his training this week,” he said.
Mr. Lerm said that the Eagles are looking forward to a win against the Falcons.
“We take it game by game, but we’ve analysed their videos, and we know which of our weaknesses we have to work on before we leave for Kempton Park,” he said.
Final score
Absa Currie Cup First Division, Outeniqua Park (George), 3 August 2012: SWD Eagles 20 – Griffons 13 (half time: 17 – 0)
Scorers
Griffons
Tries: Martin Sithole, Nicky Steyn
Penalty: Tiaan van Wyk
SWD Eagles
Tries: Jeffrey Taljard, Grant Kemp
Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (2)
Penalties: Elric van Vuuren, Theuns Kotze
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