Richards Bay Coach: We Have To Box Clever Against Sundowns
Richards Bay co-coach Ronnie Gabriel faces a daunting challenge as his side prepares to take on Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 quarter-finals.
The match, scheduled at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday (18:00), is the first of the 2025/26 season for both teams.
The Natal Rich Boys finished eighth in the Betway Premiership last season, earning them a spot against the league champions, Mamelodi Sundowns. However, their history against Sundowns is grim. Since their first encounter in the 2021/22 season, Richards Bay has lost all seven matches, scoring only two goals while conceding 14.
“Going into that fixture, there is not much pressure on us,” said Gabriel.
“Remember, they were number one in the league; we ended in position eight on the last day of the season.”
Despite the challenging odds, Gabriel is focusing on the bigger picture for his team. “Sundowns is a club that is coming from the Club World Cup, they have beaten oppositions in the Club World Cup championship, it is for us to go out there and show we can box with the big boys,” he explained.
He emphasized that the goal is to bridge the gap against top teams by focusing on player development. “For us, it is processes; it is processes of growing the players, processes in terms of progressive development. Our training sessions are process-driven, we don’t need a magic wand with players,” Gabriel said.
“We understand it is process-driven, and hours of development are going to come into play until they are category A players in the league, if I may call it that way. For us, it is a training session and process-driven.”
