Corniel Van Zyl insists “It’s business as usual”, as Cardiff prepare to kick-off the BKT United Rugby Championship season against Lions on Saturday (7.45pm) without Matt Sherratt.
Sherratt departed the Arms Park as head coach on Monday, taking up the role of attack coach in Steve Tandy’s new look coaching ticket.
It was undoubtedly a blow to the Blue & Blacks on the eve of a new season, but forwards coach Van Zyl believes the squad are well prepared and the loss of Sherratt will not have an immediate impact to form.
He said: “It’s been a bit of a shake-up early in the week with the news coming out. Speaking to the players and the coaches, nothing changes, it’s business as usual.
“There’s no time to look back too much and ask why, when, where. It’s about projecting all our energy forward and finding a positive outcome for the club. The players have been really positive and are focusing their energy on moving forward.
Player Positivity
“Even with sudden changes in leadership, the players have been really positive, moving on quickly and stepping up to the challenge. That mindset is crucial as we head into the season.
“We’ve got an experienced coaching setup that we’ve worked with for months. I explained to the players that the cake is now cut into four pieces instead of five, so each of us will take more responsibility in certain areas.
“I’ll oversee the bigger picture of the club, training sessions, driving standards, and game management. Gethin will focus more on kicking strategy, Scott on forward attacking shape, and Jonny will take over the attack, including kick counterattack and general game shape.”
Pre-Season Success
Prior to Sherratt’s departure to Wales, Cardiff secured pre-season victories over Richmond FC and league champions Leinster.
And while Van Zyl was encouraged by elements of the performances, he is taking more away from the general growth and improvement across the entire summer block.
He continued: “The first thing that’s really important was for us to go on a trip away from home and just get our game on the pitch.
“It was really pleasing to see. There’s always confidence to take from it. Things we’ve worked on in pre-season, we could see some of that in a game.”
Cardiff begin the Championship season against Lions on Saturday evening (7:45pm) before travelling to face Connacht in Round Two.
Van Zyl added: “Ultimately, it’s about competitive games with pressure situations and how players can adjust and manage them. It’s a nice little block of five games in a row, then we can reflect on how to do things better. For now, it’s all about focusing on the next match and making small tweaks week in and week out.”
