Plumtree determined to keep fighting and fix things in Durban

REACTION: The Sharks have slumped to 13th on the United Rugby Championship log, but coach John Plumtree offered no excuses for their winless tour after losing to Leinster in Round Three of the competition.

The final score was 5-31 and marks the Durbanites’ second loss this season after falling in Glasgow on the opening weekend and drawing with the Dragons in Newport last week.

It was always going to be a tough ask visiting a Leinster team coming off two losses and strengthened by the return of most of their British and Irish Lions internationals.

The Sharks had a sprinkling of Springboks that returned to bolster them – Ethan Hooker, Makazole Mapimpi, and Bongi Mbonambi – but Leinster’s execution on the night was just way more clinical.

There is no doubt that Plumtree will waste no time in calling on the rest of his Springbok artillery for next week’s home game against Ulster.

Bok giants like Siya Kolisi, Grant Williams, Ox Nche, and Andre Esterhuizen are all due to return for the encounter.

The call on Eben Etzebeth’s return will be made during the week after his second child was born on Thursday.

“Obviously, really disappointing. We weren’t good enough, and we’ve got a massive job ahead of us the next two weeks,” Plumtree commented after the game.

“[It was a] tough night for us. We knew the start was going to be massively important. They came out fast and we just didn’t get the contestable kicks in terms of regaining the ball in the air.

“We had a few soft moments defensively that allowed them to build that scoreboard pressure early.

“In the last 10 or 15 minutes of the first half, we got back into the game, but it was really a case of catch-up rugby. In the second half, we did our best, but their defence was just too good.

“Once we gave them that lead, it just gave them that confidence to defend really well, and we just didn’t fire enough shots.”

The coach was adamant that it was still early days and their campaign had only really started now..

“That’s the message to everyone: We’ll keep fighting hard and make sure we get it right over the next fortnight.

“[We’ve got] a couple of home games, and we’ve got to work real hard and get into this competition,”

“The team’s disappointed, and collectively we’ve got to take responsibility to be better over the next two weeks, and that’s what we’ll do.

“It was always going to be a pretty tough tour for us, with a lot of disruptions, but there are no excuses now. We’ve got to get back to South Africa and play really well in front of our fans.”

The Sharks host Ulster and Scarlets over the next two rounds before a month-long break in the tournament.