AUDIO: Plumtree has his say on Kolisi's big late call
SPOTLIGHT: John Plumtree admitted that the Sharks were their own worst enemies in their United Rugby Championship Round 14 clash against Leinster at Kings Park.
The home side squandered a few try-scoring chances, which would have surely won them the game in challenging conditions where errors stood out like a sore thumb.
This eventually saw them suffer a disappointing 7-10 defeat against the log leaders.
In fact, they could have even tied the game for two points had they opted for a penalty goal, as opposed to kicking for touch in the last play of the game.
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“It was a tough arm-wrestle, two sides that were physical,” said Plumtree,
“They scored one more try than us. It is just one more opportunity that they took than us.
“We had our opportunities inside their 22, and we didn’t come away with points.
“You’ve got to hand it to them; they’ve got an aggressive line speed.
“At times we handled it and at times we didn’t, but it was the same for them as well.
“It was two sides going hammer and tongs, but they took their opportunities and we didn’t.”
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Match Summary
Plumtree also had his say on Siya Kolisi’s decision to try and snatch a win by opting for a line-out instead of the poles in the final minute of the match.
“I don’t like losing, so I probably would’ve preferred to go for the poles, but it was Siya’s decision on the field,” Plumtree explained.
“He wanted to go for the four points, and that cost us one point.
“If we had scored then it would be a different conversation.
“It’s frustrating that we got held up. The Irish are masters at stuffing your ball up in those types of moments, and again, it was just another opportunity that we didn’t take.
Plumtree added: “It’s not really about who makes the decision, it’s about feeling the moment and often the players feel different out on the park than what we feel in the coaches’ box.
“They felt like they could do it.
“Bongi [Mbonambi] scored off the back of a dominant drive [earlier in the second half], and that would have been in Siya’s mind as well, but we just didn’t execute it.
“If Siya looks to the coaches’ box to get the decision, then that is a different conversation.”
The Sharks will head to France for a Challenge Cup Round of 16 tie against Lyon next weekend.
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