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Going into his second season in charge, John Plumtree says his reinforced Sharks side are far more settled than when he first arrived back in Durban last year. DYLAN JACK reports.
With most of their Springboks at the World Cup, the Sharks endured an awful two-win Vodacom URC campaign in the 2023-24 season, following up a five-loss start with a mid-season slump of eight defeats.
As the Sharks’ hopes of securing a URC playoff were already in tatters by March, Plumtree wisely opted to devote full focus to the Challenge Cup, winning the tournament and securing an alternate route to the top-tier Champions Cup.
During the off-season, the Sharks have significantly strengthened their squad, with Siya Kolisi’s return headlining a spree that includes Springboks Andre Esterhuizen, Trevor Nyakane, Jason Jenkins, Jordan Hendrikse, Ruan Dreyer and bulldozing flank Emmanuel Tshituka.
During a Vodacom URC Media Round Table, Plumtree says the Sharks are a far more settled unit than when he first returned to Kings Park.
“Last year was my first year back. I had a new coaching group that hadn’t worked together, with a squad that I inherited. I didn’t know anyone,” Plumtree explained.
“This year is quite different. A lot of relationships have been built. The coaches are in place in terms of what I expect from them, and I’ve learned from them as well. We are a happy coaching group.
“It’s the same with the players. I trust the players that I’ve got now. Hopefully they trust me. It’s a different ball game for us now.
“We let ourselves down in the URC last year, but we targeted the Challenge Cup and we had success in that once I got a full-strength side back. No matter how strong your squad is, it’s always a challenge to do well in both competitions.
“It’s about your squad’s strength, not your internationals. We feel like we’ve recruited well and strengthened some areas that we struggled with last year. We are just a happier bunch now, which makes life easier.”
The Sharks will get their URC campaign underway against Connacht in Galway on 28 September, after their round one fixture against the Lions in Durban was postponed to later in the season, due to it clashing with the Currie Cup final.
Plumtree expressed his frustration with the decision, saying the Sharks were more than happy to play both games on 21 September if they progressed to the Currie Cup final.
“That fixture’s now been shifted to a later date. You do your planning with the Springbok resting, and now it’s been shifted. The organisers have just got to be better than this,” Plumtree said.
“If we are going to play a Currie Cup through the winter months and then it impacts on the URC, it can’t impact our planning. So they have got to get better organised. We spend a lot of time planning and now post-Christmas we’ve got another game added to the calendar.
“If we reached the Currie Cup final, we were more than happy to play it and the URC game. We would’ve just played a younger group in the Currie Cup final. I think that’s what everyone was happy to do.”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
