JOURNEY TO GLORY

WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP

The Cell C Sharks embarked on a journey, three months ago, with a new coach, in Joey Mongalo, and squad of mostly young charges. Following a somewhat haphazard start, this team found the necessary character and cohesion to win 10 of their 14 games, of which seven on the trot, to qualify for today’s Currie Cup semi-final against the Pumas at home. And, for captain Reniel Hugo and his “group of desperate men”, the journey is not over; the Cell C Sharks want to go all the way…

From the outset, the biggest challenge that faced Joey Mongalo’s Currie Cup squad was to find cohesion, as well as consistency, as swiftly as possible.

Disruptions due to the ongoing Heineken Champions Cup and Vodacom United Rugby Championship tournaments complicated matters initially, and the first half of the Cell C Sharks’ Currie Cup campaign followed a ‘consistent’ win-lose pattern.

In early April, Mongalo’s men first came up against the defending champions, the Pumas, whom they are hosting again today in the semi-finals, and the Cell C Sharks grinded out an inspirational 19-12 win in The Shark Tank.

“This is a group that is starting to believe in each other and the journey that this team is on,” Mongalo observed at the time. “This win does give us enormous confidence, and I’m hoping that this confidence will breed more and more belief.

“This group is probably one win away from understanding just how good they can possibly be.”

The important win that Mongalo alluded to followed a fortnight later against the Cheetahs, who would end up top of the standings in this year’s domestic showcase. In addition, the 24-17 victory, which saw the boys having to weather a fierce second half comeback from the Cheetahs, was their first away win in this year’s tournament.

However, consistency still eluded the Cell C Sharks at that stage, prompting Mongalo to state that “if we can somehow string together a series of wins, it will make a massive difference.”

The team obliged and went on to win no fewer than seven matches in a row, which included another profound, bonus-point victory away from home, pipping the Pumas 24-22 in Mbombela.

“The fight in the last 10 minutes or so was the one highlight from the game,” admitted Mongalo, although the overall performance was still somewhat below par.

“We are growing in cohesion and that is why we can still win games like the one against the Pumas; good teams can still win games, even though they might play poorly.”