There was mixed emotions for head coach Dwayne Peel after Saturday’s drawn thriller against Benetton in the opening round of the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Here’s what he had to say to the media after the 20-20 draw.
How do you feel after what happened in that final minute or so?
DP: “I’m very disappointed for the boys as they put a big shift in. We knew it was going to be a challenging 80 minutes here and that we needed to fight hard and that’s what we did. I thought the defensive effort at the end was excellent to keep them out and some heroic work from the boys. But obviously I’m disappointed for it to end in a draw. There was a kicking battle on 72 minutes which we were penalised and if we managed to get that right we would have been able to see the game through. There’s plenty to work on ahead of next week’s derby and some of our boys will be back available again with a number of players on the field putting in a massive shift tonight.”
It’s a young squad but each one of them showed passion and it was a heroic effort?
DP: “We showed plenty of passion and effort which is what we talk about and is what’s expected. There are a number of aspects of the game that we need to work on with it being the first game of the season, but we will get better and the results will change.”
How much impact did it have for that first try to be disallowed after Fifita’s break?
DP: “It was obviously disappointing to not get that try, we’ve had a couple of them over the last year, but we’ll move on now and look at the positive aspects of the game. I felt our line speed was positive and we’ll improve with the ball as we look ahead to Cardiff next week.”