Plumtree's men are sitting pretty
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:21
Sharks coach John Plumtree feels confident that his side can meet their objective of securing a Currie Cup home semifinal, starting with a huge home contest against the Blue Bulls on Saturday.
After an impressive 41-7 victory over Boland last Friday in wet and torrid conditions, Plumtree felt his men were starting to step up to the plate in light of some big challenges ahead.
"The players are taking ownership and playing with plenty of passion for the jersey," Plumtree told the Sharks official website.
"A home semi is looking good, but we have some big tests coming up which we're looking forward to."
This week also marks the return of the Springboks back to their respective provincial unions (to be confirmed on Wednesday), which for Plumtree could mean changes in key positions - though the coach seemed reluctant to tamper with a winning formula.
"Well that's what you want - for there to be competition for places - but they can't be penalised for being Springboks, that's always been my attitude.
"The challenge for them is to come back and fit in with the team dynamic, we will integrate them how we wish as long as their well-being is fine and they're ready to go," he said.
Given some of the nightmares Plumtree has had to deal with this season in terms of injuries and players in and out of the squad making selection continuity impossible, this weekend should see him with virtually his entire squad available.
"It's a good position to be in," he admitted
"It means the bench is going to be strong, and obviously there will be some rotation, but as long as we are playing well, it's a nice headache to have."
Facing the Blue Bulls at home this weekend and the team to beat to keep their (home) semifinal hopes alive, means the Sharks really have their work cut out for them.
"Home games are crucial in this competition and hopefully the crowd will get behind us and we give them a good go.
"They [the Blue Bulls] are obviously very big and physical and pose a number of threats - different to us as we are possibly not quite as big as them, but you never know, if we get a good crowd behind us and play with top accuracy like we did against Boland, we can do it," Plumtree added.
The emphatic win after a three week break gives the Sharks inertia going into the next few weeks, especially with tough games against the Bulls and Cheetahs on consecutive weekends.
Apart from a healthy Bok injection, Plumtree also confirmed his side were in good shape - with no injuries of any consequence to report this week apart from the odd niggle.
