VIDEO: Sharks not ready to claim the 'bigger prize'
SPOTLIGHT: Saturday’s 21-15 win over the Stormers was a perfect example of how much work the Sharks still need to do before they can be considered real contenders for the United Rugby Championship title.
The Sharks looked comfortable with a 21-8 lead going into the final few minutes. However, things quickly turned pear-shaped for the hosts and it was a dramatic finish at Kings Park.
The Capetonians were awarded a penalty try in the final minute as Aphelele Fassi was penalised for a deliberate knock-down while the Stormers were close to the tryline, and this saw the Bok fullback receive his marching orders.
The Stormers tried hard to capitalise further on this advantage, with Manie Libbok touching down under the posts in the final run of play only to be denied the try and the team a possible victory due to a knock-on at a ruck earlier on.
Plumtree admits that the emotions got the better of him when he thought his team threw away the game.
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“The headset went off and it got thrown into the computer, so that’s probably a bit of damage done there,” Plumtree told reporters after the game.
“I’m normally pretty calm but I showed a little bit of emotion there.
“Then I got all the coaches to take a breather because we needed to get our heart rates back down to normal. We are all ageing; well, I am the one that’s ageing.
“It was tough. Someone asked me why I like coaching and I said it is sort of like bungee jumping and you are not sure if you are going to have a rope or not and tonight [Saturday] the rope stayed on.”
He added: “With a little bit of luck you are back from the dead and I guess that is what can happen in these big games.
“There were a lot of opportunities lost from both teams in terms of try-scoring opportunities, so it was a pretty dramatic game and supported by an awesome crowd, which we loved.”
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It was the Sharks’ first win over the Stormers in the tournament, but they still have a long way to go before they are the finished product.
However, Plumtree believes they are on the right road to further success.
“There has been a lot of work behind the scenes,” he said.
“The management is doing a lot of good work in that space to make the environment that we want.
“You’ve got to hand it to the boys [players]. If they don’t buy into it, it doesn’t happen, so a lot of our leaders are doing some great work and the team is connected.
“Win or lose, we try to have a lot of fun at work and make it a good place to be and on top of that we’ve got some good talent.
“If you get all of that right, you can have a little bit of success.
“I guess we are on the way but apart from winning the Challenge Cup and the Currie Cup which is great, we are after a bigger prize and it is still a long way to go.”
@rugby365com
