Time for Sharks to stand up
Sharks coach John Plumtree believes that now is the time for his team to stand up and be counted, and with a string of wins in May the Durban side will be in the hunt for the Super Rugby play-offs.
A 28-16 victory over the Highlanders last weekend was a good start for the side to get a win under their belts and banish the memories of a few disappointing defeats.
Plumtree has praised the steely resolve of his side to grind out the victory against the Highlanders after an agonising defeat to the Chiefs in their previous match.
“The players responded to the pressure, the boys are irritated with themselves,” Plumtree told the Sharks website.
“We’ve got into this situation through our own fault, we’ve lost close games and we have to turn that around. The boys know they’re better than what they’ve delivered, but that’s all in the past and what we can control is still coming.
“Hopefully, we will show some real maturity and leadership over the next four weeks and see what damage we can do in this tournament.”
The Sharks came through the Highlanders match without any new injury concerns, and importantly both Tendai Mtawarira and Ryan Kankowski made successful returns from injury.
“In general, it’s all good, no serious injuries,” explained Sharks team doctor Ewoudt van der Linde.
“We had some players who returned from injury and came through without any problems, Beast Mtawarira played 80 minutes and the ankle went well, Ryan Kankowski was fine afterwards and other than that, there were just a few of the regulation bumps and bruises we get each match and we came through the game well.”
The Sharks now face matches against the Western Force (home), Cheetahs (away), Stormers (home) and Lions (away) before the June break for internationals, and Plumtree’s men can’t afford to let the top sides pull away and widen the gap on the table.
“The cream will rise to top and we’re seeing that already and it’s up to the pack behind to keep in touch and put some pressure on those teams, especially those we’ll meet in our conference,” said Plumtree.
“Building on the Highlanders win is something we’ve spoken about. We will prepare for the Force in the same way we prepared for this game, but it will be done with a smile on our faces, coming off a win. But we’re at the stage where, if we drop a game, other teams gain.
“We have to keep in touch with the top sides, so that when we meet them, we can have a good crack at pulling them back.”
