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Powell expects to get by with help from his friends

rugby01 December 2022 14:04| © SuperSport
By:Gavin Rich
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Neil Powell © Gallo Images

The Cell C Sharks have a new man filling the position of head coach but Neil Powell says in these early days of his first taste of being in charge of a team in the 15-man code he will be relying heavily on the people around him.

The Sharks have a bigger coaching team than most, which has sometimes drawn criticism, but it might turn into a benefit for the Sharks in that it will lessen the prospect of the change-over from Sean Everitt, who parted ways with the franchise at the start of the week, being a traumatic or jarring one.

Powell has in a lot of senses found himself thrown in at the deep end at the Sharks - he was still in charge of the Blitzboks as recently as September - and he is honest enough to admit that he is still some way behind where he’d need to be as a coach of the conventional 15-man code.

However, he clearly rates the people around him in the Sharks management team, so this is a time when, as the words of the old Beatles hit state, you get by with a little help from your friends, or in his case assistants.

“Rugby is rugby. I am not where I need to be in terms of 15-man rugby, I know that,” said Powell

“But we have some really astute coaches in our coaching team like Noel McNamara, who has a lot of experience, and Yannick Bru, who has head coaching experience, while we also have people who have gone a long way in the 15-man game like Warren Whiteley.

“I will not be up there sitting alone. It will be a communal effort. If I miss something, others will pick it up. As a group we will watch each other and get the best out of each other.”

Powell, who says he will continue filling both the roles of director and head coach until a decision has been taken on the Sharks structures going forward, was speaking at a press conference where it was made clear by the media co-ordinator that no questions on Everitt’s departure would be permitted.

'GOALS ARE STILL THE SAME'

Rightly, there was some blowback from members of the Fourth Estate, and Powell did get to answer a few questions on his role and the reaction of the squad to the events of what has been a tumultuous week that started with the 35-0 defeat on Sunday that ended Everitt’s reign as coach.

The coach/director of rugby stressed that although there needed to be improvement on the plan and “better execution of the plan”, there wasn’t going to be a seismic shift in the Sharks’ goal or the path that they’ve been on since the start of their 2022/23 campaign.

“The goals are still the same and we have had those discussions already, we already have buy-in from the players,” said Powell.

“It was important after the weekend to get buy in on what we are doing and planning, and to get clarity on this week’s preparations.

“Will we see the results of it this week? We hope so, but if it doesn’t happen, we will chip away until it does.”

Powell made said there had been a lot of fall out after the 35-0 loss to Cardiff that precipitated the crisis and Everitt’s departure, but he was confident the groundwork for a proper reaction to last week’s calamitous result had been laid.

“We obviously spoke a lot about what happened (last week) and our focus has to be shifted (to the Ospreys). That is not easy. But it was important for us to come together as a squad of 50, to get ideas on how to go forwards.

“A score of 35-0 wasn’t good enough. And we are all part of it. But we have to refocus and be successful in this game. We accepted we just were not good enough (against Cardiff) and there were consequences because of that. We are all utterly disappointed, and it was a different week for us, with a lot of words and a lot said. Now we have to go into action (against Ospreys on Friday night) and we have to act on those words.”

The timing of the Sharks’ crisis might have been perfect, if there had to be one, in the sense that it coincided with the return of the franchise’s Springboks.

And while neither of them is playing on Friday against the Ospreys, two players with Bok leadership experience, Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth, have played a strong role in getting the mood right this week.

“There have been massive contributions off the field from Siya and Eben. Even though they are not playing, they were at every single training session this week and every meeting, and their contribution was massive. The Boks bring back a different mindset and approach and hunger for success that will hopefully rub off on the rest of the squad.”

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