Sharks player's London trip cancelled
REACTION: The Sharks are busy tweaking some travel arrangements ahead of their Challenge Cup Final against Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday.
After their 14-36 defeat to Cardiff in Round 17 of the United Rugby Championship, head coach John Plumtree revealed that flank Tino Mavesere would have been one of a handful of players flying out on Sunday to join the main group in London.
However, the 25-year-old was sent off in the 20th minute against Cardiff for a high tackle and he is set to face a disciplinary hearing in the coming days.
“I was really happy with a couple of the forwards that didn’t have opportunity and a couple of the youngsters that are coming through,” said Plumtree.
“I thought Tino was playing really well until he got his red card and I am excited about his future.”
Plumtree added: “It’s really disappointing for Tino. He was coming to London with us, and I guess he won’t be now.”
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Sheer power from Willis Halaholo 😤😤😤#BKTURC | #URC | #SHAvCAR | @Cardiff_Rugby pic.twitter.com/EwpcaLhMOz
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) May 18, 2024
With their first-choice players on a plane ahead of the Cardiff match, it was always going to be difficult for the Sharks to beat Cardiff with their second-stringers.
It became an even harder task when they gave the opposition a numerical advantage for a large portion of the game.
“We started really well. We built a lot of pressure with the ball and we looked positive,” said Plumtree.
“The red card had a massive effect on the game. We were one forward short against a really big Cardiff pack.
“We conceded a couple of pretty soft tries and that brought the scoreboard pressure. From then on, we were always going to struggle a bit.
“I was really pleased with the second half. We got ambitious and we moved the ball a little bit more and attacked in the wide channels and tried to do something a little bit different.
“However, on the day we weren’t quite good enough and there are quite a few guys in the squad that haven’t played in a while.
“It was a disappointing evening.
“I am disappointed for the boys. They wanted to do a bit more than that, but with 15 against 14 for 60 minutes, it was never going to be an easy task against a URC team.”
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