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Sharks head coach John Plumtree has stressed the importance of winning their next two United Rugby Championship matches – the team’s first at home after going winless in three games on tour.
The Sharks lost 35-19 to Glasgow in Scotland, drew 17-17 against Dragons in Wales, and then lost 31-5 to Leinster in Ireland on the weekend to approach round four lying 13th on the table with just two points.
Last year’s semi-finalists host Ulster on Saturday afternoon and then Scarlets the following week, before a one-off trip to Connacht.
While Ethan Hooker’s solitary first-half try was a positive – the Springbok wing dancing through defenders to score – a scoreless second half despite a Leinster yellow card, left much to be desired.
Sharks must up the ante
Plumtree said Leinster defended brilliantly, but his Durban outfit were not up to scratch in conceding five tries.
They were outplayed in both the set pieces and general play. Even in the aerial contest – usually their strength – they fell well below their standards.
“Obviously, really disappointing. We weren’t good enough and we’ve got a massive job ahead of us the next two weeks,” the Sharks coach said.
“We’ve got to work really hard and get into this competition.”
Last year, the Sharks only played Ulster away. They won 22-19 with Makazole Mapimpi, Manu Tshituka and Jurenzo Julius scoring tries. The Sharks beat Scarlets 12-3 in Durban thanks to four penalty kicks.
The Sharks have a 2-1 win record against both teams in the URC.
Plumtree said they could not afford to play “catch-up rugby” again after going 21-0 down in the first 27 minutes against Leinster.
“Once we gave them that lead, that gave them the confidence to defend really well and we just didn’t fire enough shots,” he said.
“It was always going to be a pretty tough tour for us with a lot of disruptions. But there’s no excuses now. We’ve got to get back into South Africa and play very well in front of our fans. The team is disappointed.”
The Sharks coach said they had to take responsibility for their performances.
“That’s the message to everyone: to keep fighting hard and make sure we get it right over the next fortnight.”
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