Plumtree gives Sharks players big thumbs up

Sharks head coach John Plumtree said he was pleased with the whole squad for turning out an all-round performance to claim a victory in the United Rugby Championship (URC) against Cardiff, a side he said had every potential to win the game.

The teams both played after a month without a victory and while Cardiff extend their winless run to four games, they can at least take consolation in their four-try bonus point earned in the losing cause.

The Sharks scored six tries, securing their own bonus point to move above Cardiff to fourth on the URC table.

Plumtree praises Sharks for 42–22 win

Plumtree especially praised his replacements for making an impact from the bench.

“I’m really pleased with the result,” he said. “I thought Cardiff were excellent and played some good attacking rugby and stretched our defence on a number of occasions.

“Losing Manu Tshituka and Nick Hatton early in the game put a lot of stress on our forwards, but I thought Deon Slabbert coming off the bench, having only been with us for a few days, did really well.”

Plumtree said Jason Jenkins adjusted well in the lineouts and getting the job done after losing two forwards early in the game was pleasing.

He said the Sharks had to strike back after Alex Mann’s early try and Gabe Hamer-Webb’s late score, which they did very quickly on both occasions.

“The critical thing in the last 15 minutes, was when we put the impact players on and how they closed the game out.”

‘I loved the way we closed out the game’

He commended the front row for their “excellent” performance, and also praised Lukhanyo Am, Francois Venter and Jaden Hendrikse in the backline.

“I loved the way we closed out the game with the two late tries [by Venter and Yaw Penxe], but it could have gone either way.

“As I said, I thought Cardiff were excellent, they had a full house at the stadium and had great support.

“It was a good away win for us. We always hoped to get them over here and so were really pleased with the win.”

The coach added the Sharks have a well-deserved break before they play the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in the URC on 15 February.