Sharks close to ‘getting it right’

After seeing his side succumb to a ninth defeat in the United Rugby Championship, Sharks coach John Plumtree (above) has compared their season to jumping into a cold bath.

The Sharks lost 25-21 to the Stormers on Saturday night in front of a packed King’s Park. The loss added to the Sharks’ woes as they are still at the bottom of the table.

Plumtree, who has struggled to cut it so far in his second stint as Sharks coach, painted a picture of their struggles in his post-match press conference.

“I’m not making excuses but everything about this season is about us jumping into a cold bath,” Plumtree said.

“It’s been breaking in a new coaching team, us getting to know each other, injuries, World Cup-winning Springboks coming in late; it’s been tough for a lot of different reasons. For me, it’ll be easier next year.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team that we are going to go and get it right and go to the places that we want to go, but right now it’s a struggle for different reasons,” he said.

Reflecting on the game, where they scored three tries through Ox Nche, James Venter, and Bongi Mbonambi, and pushed the Stormers to the limit in the second-half, Plumtree praised his troops and said they are aiming to be like their Cape visitors.

“Where they are as a team, is where we want to be. I thought they worked really hard defensively whenever we had an opportunity, we created a couple of opportunities but we didn’t finish them off and they scrambled back and would stop us.

“I thought that’s sort of a testament to their group, and that’s why they are where they are...a tough outfit. I was happy with the way we never gave up, we came back into the contest,” he said.

Stormers coach John Dobson saw his side win the derby without his Springboks, and that spoke volumes for the depth they have in their squad.

“It’s nice that we can have that sort of depth. I thought some good performances by some second-string players,” he said.