By John Wilkinson 
LINE-OUT coach Brendon Snyman says that Coventry’s players need to show more self-belief and confidence in their own ability after suffering their fourth defeat of the season at Esher last weekend.
The South African second row believes that it is making the difference in the side’s quest for consistency after failing to convert strong home performances into success on the road.
“I think our boys just need a little bit of confidence, and confidence can’t be given to you by anyone,” said Snyman.
“You have to get it yourself, and that comes down to personal performance, so I think that this week – and even after the last three weeks – you have to look in the mirror, own up to what you did well and what you didn’t do so well, and just take ownership of it.
“I believe our systems are in place and 100 per cent it’s just confidence.
“I don’t think we believe in ourselves individually and that’s something we have to fix as soon as possible.
“As a coach, obviously you try to inspire and motivate as much as you can, but what I personally believe is that confidence starts at home. You have to come to the game motivated.
“If you make a mistake there has to be 14 other players on the field motivating you, picking you back up. It’s your choice to accept it or not accept it.
“It’s six games into the season, but we can’t be saying next week if we’re in the same situation it’s only seven, it’s time now to fix it – that’s the long and the short of it.
“We have to fix it now and start getting our season back in the right direction.”
Snyman is comfortable with the side’s performance in his specialist area and in the set piece overall, but doesn’t feel it has yielded the reward it merits.
“The line-out is starting to work well, I think at this point we’re running at around 87 per cent for the season, but from a personal point of view we’re not getting the fruits yet from our work,” he said.
“Our mauling and our line-out systems are going well, I just think we need to get something more from it.
“We’ve been dominating in the scrum, I think in every single game, and with our line-outs we’ve had success the majority of the time, so in those areas I can’t really fault them.
“Obviously there’s room for improvement every single week, but I’m happy where we are at the moment in that respect.”
Added Snyman: “To say Saturday was disappointment is an understatement, to say the least.
“We’re back at Butts Park for the next two games, we’ve got to get the fans behind us and cheering us on, and we won’t disappoint them.”
