VIDEO: Plumtree - 'This baby will grow up'
John Plumtree was seen as the enchanter who would wave his magic wand and fix all the ills in the Shark Tank.
However, four rounds into the new United Rugby Championship season they are still winless.
They started their 2023-24 URC campaign with losses to Munster (21-34), Leinster (13-34), Ospreys (5-19) and Zebre 10-12), the Durban-based franchise is desperate for some international reinforcements.
Plumtree cautioned against expecting instant success and likened the team to a ‘baby’ busy growing up – at a time when their World Cup Springboks are only starting to filter back into the Durban-based squad.
That growth will continue when the Sharks host menacing Irish province Connacht in a Round Five outing in Durban on Saturday.
Plumtree revealed that while the Sharks are looking top ‘play more’ (read more ball in hand), they are making more mistakes – an unintentional by-product of a deliberate change in style and culture.
“This is mainly because the skillsets of some of the players we have aren’t quite good enough,” Plumtree said – reiterating that the sills levels need to improve significantly.
He added that while attack coach David Williams has done a ‘great job’, the correct options are not being taken.
(WATCH as Sharks coach John Plumtree unpacks the reasons behind his team’s winless start to the URC season...)
“Our playmakers have to be able to hit the right options and at times when we have taken the right options we were not good enough to finish.
“We are not there yet, but what we are seeing is nice growth in terms of what we are trying to do.”
The coach said the goal is for the team to consistently score four or five tries per game to put the opposition under pressure on the scoreboard.
Conditioning is another issue, as the intensity with which the Sharks are trying to play results in players struggling as the game approaches the hour mark.
“That, again, is part of the growth of our game,” Plumtree sid, adding: “We need an impact off the bench as well.”
He pointed out that the bulk of the current pack – six or seven – are 23-year-old greenhorns.
Plumtree pointed out that his son – Taine Plumtree, playing for Scarlets and capped twice by Wales already – is also just 23.
“As a father, it seems like I am coaching about six or seven of my sons,” he quipped.
“I have a fair bit of empathy for those boys in the pack.
“I still see my son as a bit of a baby.
“His learning and growth in the game still has a long way to go.
“Some of the boys in the [Sharks] pack are still young – in terms of their age and the number of games they have had in the URC.
“Those issues will go away. Those you fellows need time.
“What I am excited about is the future of some of those young players.
“I love our change of mindset, around how we want to play, but I feel we have a baby here that we have to grow.
“I have to be really patient, but there is no doubt in my mind that Neil [Powell, Director of Rugby] and myself will fix what we have to fix.
“However, there is no overnight fix.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
