By Roth Admin
December 8 2003

Steph Nel made the following comments directly after the home game against Narbonne on Friday Evening. Nel is amiable, alongside being a quietly spoken South African. But you can see a steely determination in those Springbok eyes. One that suggests he’s on a mission to bring success to Rotherham. When asked about the 2nd half display Nel replied, “In the 2nd half we really played good rugby. We used every ball that we got to its fullest, sometimes even to our own detriment in our own 22 and I thought that was a little bit crazy. More so in the 1st half than the 2nd half. But I think if you’re under so much pressure up front you’ve got to maximise every ball that you get.”

Who impressed on the evening? – “I don’t like singling out a player, it’s a team game. But I must say in the 2nd half I thought John Benson really did magical things and he was justly rewarded with a great try.”

Narbonne looked good up front? – “That tight head prop is a monstrous scrummager; I’ve known him for 3 years and he’s really really strong.”

On the 2nd leg – “It’s going to be very tough. Narbonne away from home is incredibly difficult and their crowd is intimidating as all French crowds are. They will make huge noises and we must be careful not to be intimidated by them. At home their performance will improve by another 20-30%.”

What did impress you this evening? – “I was impressed with the boys in the 2nd half; they really threw the ball around. Sometimes it was scattered, but hell it was exciting and it got the crowd going. And at the end of the day that’s what you as a coach want, and that’s what the players want – they want to excite the crowd.

I said to the boys at half time, look you’ve got to go out and face the supporters and there not going to be happy with what you’re doing – but I’m delighted at the way they turned it around and they can now face the supporters, although they’ve lost.”