'Relieved' Muir looks for improvement

Sharks coach Dick Muir was a “relieved” man after his team recorded a scratchy 17-10 win over the Western Force in their opening Super 14 match in Durban on Friday.

Sharks coach Dick Muir was a “relieved” man after his team recorded a scratchy 17-10 win over the Western Force in their opening Super 14 match in Durban on Friday.

Admitting that some of his team's fundamentals were not up to scratch, Muir said they have a lot of work to do before they meet the Stormers next week.

“They [the Force] certainly didn't go away,” Muir said, after his team squandered a comfortable 14-3 lead and required a late long-range Francois Steyn penalty in the end to seal the win.

“But we were at fault a lot of the time,” Muir said about his team's struggles to put the Force away.

“We kicked away a lot of possession and allowed them to attack us, but we'll fix that,” Muir said of the build-up towards next week's showdown with the Stormers.

He added that they will continue to work on their kicking game, as there is always “room for improvement”.

“Our kicking wasn't as good as we had hoped, but there's always room for improvement and it is a big part of the game.

“We're relieved with the result,” he said, adding that the players were very tense ahead of the First Round match.

“You don't really know where you're at as far as the side is concerned, so just to get away with a win – having not played that well – is a good achievement,” Muir added.

Sharks captain Johann Muller was also relieved that his team came away with a win, despite not being at their best.

“It was really tough, the Force came out and put us under a lot of pressure,” Muller said.

“However, all credit to my guys, they really stuck it out. We're just happy with the win.”