Plumtree scratches for positives as Sharks hit new low

Sharks coach John Plumtree was left scratching for something positive to say as his team slumped to a loss to URC whipping boys Zebre on Friday night.

Plumtree had to concede that his team weren’t good enough in several areas.

SHARKS IN TROUBLE AFTER SHOCKING URC START

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However, he would commend their staunch goal-line defence which almost enabled them to escape with something.

The Sharks are the first team to suffer defeat to Zebre in 18 months of URC action.

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“Pretty disappointed with the result. Tight game, tough game,” said Plumtree according to the Citizen.

“The yellow and red card didn’t help. A lot of our basic skill sets let us down tonight, just losing the aerial battle was a key thing that allowed them to dominate territory.

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“We had a couple of nice moments on attack but really didn’t capitalise on the opportunities that were available.

“I was proud of the effort around our goal line defence, and a lot of the young players really stood up physically,” he said.

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BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD FOR PLUMTREE

Plumtree admitted that the Sharks needed to go back to the drawing board when they head home to Durban.

“Disappointing tour,” Plumtree assessed.

“We could have picked up a win or two … that didn’t happen. We’re looking forward to getting back home now and we will reset and work hard to get some momentum going and improve our results at home.”

The Sharks remain winless in this season’s URC having lost the four successive road matches that have started their campaign.

This is Plumtree’s first campaign since returning to the Sharks after some time coaching in New Zealand.

The Sharks are bottom of the URC table and have a tough first match at home in prospect with Connacht set to visit Durban.