EXCLUSIVE I JP Pietersen on Sharks culture: Durban is different, I love the flair

There is little JP Pietersen did not experience in his 197 matches for the Sharks, stretching from 2005 to 2020, and the euphoria and agony of the highs and lows have contributed to his coaching style.

On Tuesday, the 39-year-old Pietersen was confirmed as head coach of the Durban club after a successful three-month trial period as the successor to John Plumtree.

“If I go back to 2005, I was just out of school and at the Sharks Academy. I watched from the stands as the Sharks lost every single Super Rugby game,” Pietersen recalled, of the disastrous Kevin Putt-era.

“The next year, Dick Muir and John Plumtree — both proud Sharks old boys — came in and taught us what the team means to the people of KZN,” Pietersen said.

“I learned about the culture; Johan Muller was the captain, and he was big on what it meant to him to lead the Sharks. John Smit came back from the Springboks, AJ Venter was there ... They spoke about fighting for the jersey, what the Sharks stand for.

“It became apparent to me that the Sharks are different from other unions,” the 70-cap Springbok explained. “We are diverse, we draw different kinds of people from all over South Africa, and we play a brand of rugby that nobody else plays.”

Pietersen is as proud a Shark as you can get. Apart from a few seasons overseas at Leicester, the Wild Knights, and Toulon, he has spent his entire adult life at Kings Park. After playing his last game in 2020, he went straight into a role at the Sharks Academy, the place where he started as an 18-year-old.

“I love the Durban flair,” he smiles.

“Durban and the Sharks are different, and it makes us exciting. It has always been there, and it was ingrained in me by the great Sharks players I interacted with. You learn about the legacy, and you have to keep it going and pass it on.”

Two years after the Sharks’ failure in 2005, they hosted the Super Rugby final. The Sharks lost dramatically to the Bulls, but for Pietersen, the pain gave way later that year to the ecstasy of winning the 2007 World Cup. Pietersen was just 21, and he has never forgotten how the victory went to his head.

“After scoring the most tries in Super Rugby in 2007 (13) and winning a Rugby World Cup medal later that year, I lost it in 2008,” he recalls.

“I had been poor in pre-season training, and my form went downhill. I did a lot of growing up.

"I learned not to take things for granted. I learned that as a professional rugby player, what happens off the field is even more important than what happens on it.

“I keep telling the players they are only as good as their last game and that every Monday you have to start the hard work all over again. Preparation is everything. I learned the hard way not to rest on your laurels.”

Pietersen said that he learned as much from older players as he did from coaches. He stresses the need for experienced players in his teams.

“For example, as a youngster, Percy Montgomery taught me the art of back-three play. I was young and wild, and he took me under his wing. He was hard on me, and I learned so much because he made me listen.

“There were a lot of senior Springboks in the Sharks team. I learned that a big part of performance is how you react under pressure. Guys like Smit taught me that the more positive you are, the fewer mistakes you make, and if something does not go your way, you just have to move on.

"If you dwell on a mistake, you get left behind and complicate the situation. Those lessons are a big part of my coaching.”

* Mike Greenaway is the senior rugby reporter at Independent Media and senior contributor on our Last World on Rugby podcast on our YouTube channel The Clutch