Ruthless Hanekom demands more from CUT
FNB CUT head coach Theuns Hanekom's side might be unbeaten, and sitting on top of the Varsity Shield log, but he believes that they can - and must - improve if they are to challenge properly for silverware this year.
CUT came from behind in dramatic fashion to beat a competitive Wits outfit 42-36 on Monday night, running in five tries in the process. The away win shot the Men from Bloemfontein to the top of the log with a game in hand.
However, although satisfied with his team's positive start to the all-new competition, Hanekom warned that they would have to raise their game in order to stay on top.
He said: "We didn't use all of our chances and we nearly paid the price at the end of the day. We must correct that, because somewhere along the line we won't be able to come back like that."
CUT were wary of Wits' imposing forward pack before the game and with due reason.
The CUT coach told varsitycup.co.za: "Wits have a huge pack, so we knew that they would cause us problems in that department.
"(But) we were penalised in the first four scrums of the game, you can't play like that because it makes it impossible to get rhythm going," he said.
The CUT backline is quite clearly a potent unit, with four of their tries coming from behind the scrum, but Hanekom believes that they can still be far more clinical in their execution.
"Our backline is quite good, but we don't use it like we should because they should be devastating," he said. "We may have scored five tries, but we butchered at least three others."
The CUT boss was impressed by Wits' fighting spirit, especially as their fullback Juandre Kruger was sent off in the 16th minute, and was particularly disappointed to concede a fourth try in the final minutes which gave the home team the bonus point and kept them level with CUT on log points.
It says a lot about the ambitions of this team that although they have won every game so far, and occupy a commanding position on the log, the CUT coach is still focused on how they can get better.
This must be a worrying sign for the other teams in the competition.
Hanekom concluded: "We have made a good start to the competition, but now we must build on that. We are certainly going to do everything we can to stay on top."
By Michael de Vries
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