In a game of two halves, The Sharks did enough in the first half of their Absa Currie Cup clash against the Platinum Leopards on Friday to seal the match and the bonus point before a second half that failed to reach great heights.

Courtesy from www.sharksrugby.co.za

“We got the job done before half time and clearly the side wasn’t that excited about coming out of the changeroom,” explains Sharks coach John Plumtree. “Tactically, we were naïve, we were going wide too early and not prepared to do the work down the middle of the field and create the opportunities. We also didn’t do the hard yards and the Leopards worked us out and cashed in on that.”

He admits that while it wasn’t the most clinical performance ever, there was also no real drama. “It was pretty frustrating, but 12 rounds into the tournament, what can I say, we’re on top of the log.”

He also paid due recognition to the opposition who came to The Absa Stadium Durban intent on giving The Sharks a real run for their money, saying, “I was impressed with the Leopards, they came here with the right attitude to play, their defense was also pretty good, they have got to take a bit of credit.”

With five tries in the first half, Plumtree points out that, “This team is getting a bit excited about playing with ball in hand – which is great – but we’ve just got to mix it up with the right tactical decisions. We’ve worked really hard to try and find a formula to win in this Absa Currie Cup, and it’s worked for us, but now we’ve got to switch back to a power game because we can.”

The half back partnership of Ruan Pienaar at scrumhalf and Juan Hernandez at flyhalf really worked well and The Sharks coach admits to being pleased with how it went, being the first time the two had played together. “I thought that pairing was outstanding, it’s exciting isn’t it? Ruan with his speed and passing game, and Juan as well, when those two ran off, we pretty much lost our shape.”

But The Sharks finished the weekend top of the log again which was a case of mission accomplished and with the business end now approaching, The Sharks can’t afford any complacency, not that Plumtree believes that was an issue on Friday. “My wish was that I’d be driving out of the stadium happy, and although I didn’t, it wasn’t the end of the world.

“At the end of the day, I wanted a bit more and I didn’t get it and how much of that is down to motivational and how much to tactical, I don’t know. I think it’s more tactical, that’s possibly because we can play that kind of game to win, and it’s worked, but it didn’t against the Leopards because they worked us out defensively.

“The key for us now is that we get our team back and we start working together, the Boks have got to come back now and be Sharks and we have one or two guys that are still off the pace.”

Having lost so many players to the Springboks meant it was always going to be a juggling act bringing them all back in, be it wholesale or on an individual and team needs basis. “It was hard this week because we let guys go and that’s not ideal, but we needed to freshen some players up. But that’s over now, everyone is back and we’ve got to look forward to getting 10 points in the next two rounds.”

Barring the injuries to Craig Burden and Jean Deysel, The Sharks are back to full-strength for their clash against the Lions at The Absa Stadium Durban on Saturday knowing full well that accuracy is paramount in their quest for victory. “Beast is coming back as are John Smit, Johann Muller, JP Pietersen, Odwa Ndungane and Riaan Swanepoel,” confirms Plumtree who admits that he will have some hard choices to make.

“But I don’t think we’re in bad shape at all,” he concludes with a smile.