Sharks to go from 'gritty to pretty' against Ospreys, Mongalo

Sharks fans will agree that watching their team grind out wins in recent weeks has been like watching a rock being pushed up a hill, but defence coach Joey Mongalo is certain the summit is in sight.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

The Sharks host the Ospreys at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Friday night (7pm) in a homecoming United Rugby Championship fixture after hard-fought wins in Edinburgh and Belfast consolidated their fourth position on the URC points ladder.

“It has been gritty, not pretty, but it says a lot about the character of the team, and we believe the cohesion we want is not far off,” Mongalo said before explaining why the Sharks appear disjointed at this late stage of the season.

“We were always going to have this dynamic because we did not have a pre-season with our Springboks,” he said. “We only recently got all our Boks back and we have been having that ‘pre-season’ now.

“Everyone talks about us having 12 Boks, but they need to play together, and the longer that happens, the more cohesive the performances.”