Plumtree says fans are welcome to their opinions — Sharks focus on themselves

In a season where fan disappointment appears to be at an all-time high, Sharks head coach John Plumtree said this is no problem because his players focus on bettering themselves rather than dealing with external pressure.

Plumtree addressed media after naming his squad to face Ulster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Saturday (kick-off 8.35pm).

The Sharks have had mixed results this season, and fans have regularly flooded the club’s Facebook, X, and Instagram comment sections with visceral expressions of disappointment and calls for Plumtree’s axing.

‘The fans have all got their opinions’

Even though the Sharks are sitting comfortably at fourth place on the URC log, and won the SA shield for the first time, they had a dismal ECPR campaign that drew widespread criticism.

The Sharks crashed out of the Champions Cup with an accumulative points difference of -87 in their four pool games. Instead of giving their all in defending their second-tier Challenge Cup title, Plumtree fielded a second-string side that lost to Lyon in their round of 16 match in France. This was despite having a host of Springbok players available to play.

Even their 18–17 URC victory over Edinburgh in Scotland last weekend which made them the only South African side to beat Edinburgh this season, was slammed by the public for the manner in which it was won. The Sharks only won 39% possession in that game and earned two yellow cards that could have cost them the game.

While Plumtree said the Sharks are not affected by their unhappy fans, he named 12 Springboks in his starting XV both against Edinburgh last weekend and against Ulster this weekend.

“At the end of the day, the fans have all got their opinions and that’s all great. That’s what we want,” Plumtree said.

“But collectively, we stay tight as a unit and we are always looking to improve, whether we win by one point or we win by 20.”

Sharks group focuses on what it can control

The coach said “people just need to be a bit patient” with the Sharks because they have had an unprecedented challenge with injuries that at one time saw 16 players unavailable, including several Springboks.

“It hasn’t been the easiest season because of continuity, particularly around selection, having players injured at crucial times of the year. But we are here, we have got the team that we want and it’s really up to us to make sure we perform and get the win.

“That’s all we focus on. It’s not really about outside pressure: ‘Oh we’ve got a whole lot of Springboks and oh we are expected to win by more’. That doesn’t factor into how we think as a group. We do not talk about that type of thing.”