Sundowns coach Mokwena compares Gavin Hunt to a honey badger before Tshwane derby

As they prepare to take on SuperSport United in the Tshwane derby at Loftus on Monday, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has compared counterpart Gavin Hunt to the unassuming but dangerous honey badger.

The Brazilians take on United in their top of the table clash and Mokwena is aware that the vastly experienced Hunt will come up with a good plan, just like the wily honey badger in the wild.

“It is very funny, a couple of years ago Gavin Hunt made a reference to a honey badger and he compared Steve Komphela to a honey badger,” said Mokwena.

“I didn’t know what a honey badger was at that time though I follow animals and spend a lot of time on safari to try to understand them. I would compare Gavin Hunt to a honey badger himself, because a honey badger is one of the smartest animals.

“What makes it smart is it comes with solutions and Gavin Hunt will come with solutions, there is no doubt about that. He will complain to say, 'I don’t have Grant Margeman', who is one of his best players, but he will come up with a solution because that is what honey badgers do.

“There was a honey badger kept in Pretoria and it found its way out of captivity by using stones, rocks and sticks to escape. For sure, Gavin will find solutions as he is experienced and a proven winner.

“He will come up with solutions and a means to make sure they are strong enough to fight against us.”

Mokwena has Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule and Ronwen Williams who used to play for SuperSport before they crossed the floor to Chloorkop and said they will provide valuable insights into the opposition.

“That some of our players know a lot about SuperSport helps a lot in the field of play, not necessarily with regard to tactics, but also with regard to individual profiles and knowing the players well.

“They know the strengths and weaknesses, but you can say the same on the other side that Onismor Bhasera, Luke Fleurs and Siyabonga Nhlapo played with them and they also know their strengths and weaknesses.”

Hunt is disadvantaged for this match as key players, goalkeeper Ricardo Goss, midfielder Margeman and attacker Thabang Sibanyoni, who are on loan from Sundowns, will not play against their parent club, but Mokwena expects a spirited fight.

“It is the Pretoria derby, you can find all the headlines and I don’t want to do that for you, it is the top of the table clash and it is one vs two. It is two very good teams with different styles of play and data supports that.

“SuperSport have the highest number of throw-in shots in the league, which is six, and they have the highest number of box crosses with 186.

“The distribution from the goalkeeper is not the longest in the league, the distribution from the centre backs in terms of length is not the longest in the league. That also gives you an element of saying there are moments where they look to play from the back.

“They are a very complex team with strengths that go a bit in contradiction to the profile at times, and one of their biggest strengths is they have an experienced coach who knows how to win and we expect a very difficult match.”

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