Plumtree keeps his winning recipe
Sharks coach John Plumtree stuck with the recipe that gave him a workmanlike win over the Highlanders last week, for this Saturday’s Super Rugby visit by the Western Force.
It is the first time this season that Plumtree retained the same 22 that started in a previous game.
The Sharks no go into Saturday’s showdown with the Western Force looking to build momentum off the back of last week’s win and the fact that the squad is well-settled.
“The players were annoyed with themselves after the Chiefs game, when they created opportunities but failed to finish,” Plumtree said of the 12-18 in Durban about three weeks ago.
“We’ve been hard on ourselves at training; we’ve focused on tidying up our skills,” the coach added.
Some critics still felt the need to call into question the Sharks’ inability to turn more opportunities into tries.
However, for the coach the victory was far more valuable.
“The key thing is winning, winning breeds confidence,” Plumtree said.
“If we have extra belief and confidence in our ability and train with smiles on our faces because we have log points, that helps unbelievably.”
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Ryan Kankowski, 21 Frederic Michalak, 22 Meyer Bosman.
Date: Saturday, May 12
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.05 (15.05 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Joey Salmans (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
