AUDIO: What the Sharks need to do to win the URC
REACTION: The Sharks weathered the storm and stayed in contention for their United Rugby Championship dream of winning the competition.
Coach John Plumtree reflected on their sensational comeback win over Ulster on Saturday evening and felt his charges survived another great test.
Plumtree is still of the belief that the Sharks can win the URC, but said a lot of work is still needed for that to happen.
The Sharks made history in Belfast to become the first South African team to win at Ravenhill Stadium.
They remain fourth on the URC log, seven points ahead of Cardiff (who beat Munster) and five behind the Bulls (who beat Glasgow).
The game started with a late change for the Sharks when their captain, Eben Etzebeth, had to withdraw due to a bout of flu.
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Plumtree summed up their heroic effort with this comment: “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to win this championship.”
He added: “It was a game of two halves. We had a slow start.
“In the first half an hour, there were too many errors, some defensive lapses, and we didn’t build enough pressure.”
“We were chasing the game from early on, but ten minutes before halftime, we started playing some footie and were pretty unlucky not to go 10-19 at the break with the TMO decision, which I thought was pretty rough,” the coach said.
“In the second half, we just continued where we left off.
“We dominated the gain line, the boys’ confidence came back up, and we scored. Then we thought we could get the game if we got the right amount of territory and possession.
“It was another great test for us in terms of our ability to hang in the fight, stay in contention for a win, and then close it out.
“Some real positives around our willingness to win close games, but we’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to win this championship, and that’s what we will endeavour to do when we get back home.”
The Sharks now head home, where they will host two Welsh clubs, Ospreys (May 9) and Scarlets (May 17).
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