Plumtree: 'One-pointers the story of our season'

REACTION: Sharks coach John Plumtree did not pull any punches after his side’s narrow last-gasp victory over Edinburgh on Friday.

The experienced coach knew how lucky his side was to walk away with the ‘W’, especially after a sloppy first-half performance.

He acknowledged that his leaders let the side down and that they need to be better if they want two from two victories on tour.

The fourth-placed Sharks face Ulster in Belfast next week and are now within one point of the Bulls on the United Rugby Championship log.

“It’s sort of been a bit of a story of our season really, with lots of one-pointers, but always some tough contests,” Plumtree said in a pitchside interview.

“We just allowed too much momentum, and that put the pressure on our wider defence. We couldn’t get off the ground.

“We didn’t have the numbers, and they managed to score a couple of tries out wide, which is not good enough from our side.

“So yeah, there was a little bit of a spray at half time, from the leaders as well. We got our act together in the second half, but still, for us, it’s a bit of a wake-up call. We know we have to be better than that if we want to go away with two wins [on tour].”

Yellow cards to captain Eben Etzebeth and centre Lukhanyo Am hampered their efforts in the midst of an injury to Aphelele Fassi and the poor kicking performance of Jordan Hendrikse.

“I was pleased that in the second half, we got a little bit more momentum and got our game going a bit,” Plumtree said.

“We had some opportunities, and we missed goals from Jordan, which he won’t be too happy about. But I was really proud of the boys.

“They were tough at the end of the game, on the goal line there. A couple of other big moments that we also just nailed.”

Desperate defence by the Sharks kept them in the game including a crucial maul stop by Siya Kolisi and a combined effort from Ethan Hooker and Mapimpi to prevent Jack Brown from scoring.

Siya Masuku made an immediate impact when he came on, replacing Fassi.

Siya Masuku’s epic match-winning moment 👏

Finished by 2x #RWC champion Makazole Mapimpi 🫳🎤#BKTURC #URC | #EDIvSHA pic.twitter.com/9e9t9ss5kO

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 18, 2025

Not only his impressively long touch finder to set up the Sharks’ try in the end, but also his calm presence in those final moments.

“First of all, I was really happy for Siya Masuku there, to throw that wide ball. Obviously, to keep the ball for 10 or 12 phases under the post… I was just praying that we weren’t going to get held up over the line,” he said.

“We did have an arm out for a penalty, but I didn’t want another scrum if we probably were going to go to the corner, so that was really the moment we needed to finish the game.”