Sharks coach on Hendrikse's red card

Many eyebrows were raised at half-time in the Sharks vs Lions match on Saturday evening when the teams jogged off the pitch with the score at 26-all. 

Just a few days previously, the lions had dismantled their opponents 54-7 in Johannesburg. Due to Covid-19, the Lions’ original opponents for Saturday, the Bulls, were forced to pull out, thus giving the Sharks another bite at the cherry. 

It was clear that the Sharks had decided to grab the opportunity with both hands which a much-improved performance which saw them defend bravely and attack with flair. 

However, shortly after the commencement of the second half, Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse experienced a moment of madness and struck an opponent with the elbow and was subsequently sent off. Against a team of the quality of the Lions, the only logical eventuality was that the Sharks would lose their grip on the game with a man down and they began to unravel as the Lions marched on to build a massive score of 71 points to their opponents’ 31. 

What could have happened if Hendrikse had kept his cool will now never be known.  

“He is very remorseful. Nobody wants to get a red card against an international team and put your team under pressure. It’s a learning experience for him and I am sure it won’t happen again in the future,” Sharks boss Sean Everitt said. 

“Jaden is not a malicious character and we haven’t seen something like this from him before in the many games he has played at various levels. Unfortunately, there was a bit of niggle in the game and he did something that he regrets. He’s a youngster, he is only 21, and I think his emotions got the better of him and he will learn from that. 

“Off the field, funnily enough, he is totally the opposite. He is quiet and doesn’t say much. Shame, I do feel for him. 

“When you are a youngster coming through, you are no different to the other scrumhalves that are chirpy. But, yes, he has to know when to draw the line. He will learn from this incident and it’s obviously our job as coaches to develop these young men as gentlemen to have respect for the opposition and match officials. We will have a chat with him. 

“The red card didn't do anything to help us. We knew they were going to come out firing (for the second half) and they reverted to a different game when we were one man short. 

“They went coast-to-coast and beat us on the outside with the extra man.”