Sharks 'good value for money'
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:59
Wise words from John Plumtree to Rory Kockott. (c) Gallo
Sharks coach John Plumtree felt his team was good value for their seven-point lead at the top of the Currie Cup standings.
He was obviously delighted with the 48-30 defeat of Griquas in Durban last Friday, but it was more the quality of the rugby than the margin of the win that pleased Plumtree.
The other positive is that it stretched his team's victory run to seven matches. Add to that the defeats of other title contenders, the Blue Bulls to the Pumas and Western Province against the Cheetahs, and it allowed the Sharks to open up a seven point gap over their nearest rivals, Province, on the standings.
"I thought it was a pretty entertaining match, good value for money," Plumtree said in an interview on the Sharks website.
"We played some great football, although we did get a bit loose at times, especially in our own half after we got the bonus point.
"But I was really pleased with the way we played at times; we played some outstanding football.
"At times we got excited, threw 50-50 balls or an offload that wasn't quite sighted, but with the way we are playing, you're going to get a bit of that from us from time to time."
* RWC winner André Pretorius, named on the bench for the first time as a Shark, unfortunately never took to the field to make his debut.
"We wanted to put him on, but the game was closer than we wanted to and we didn't want to take Pat [Lambie] out of No.10," explained the coach.
Pretorius played club rugby on Saturday.
"I thought Pat was outstanding, he played great football in contact, with his passing and his kicking," Plumtree said.
"There's just a little bit that he needs to learn, when there is nothing on and when we haven't got go-forward, it's time to go to the boot. But this is a team really excited about their rugby and want to play from everywhere.
"At times they needed to tighten it up and didn't, especially when we had the bonus point."
There is also positive news on the injury front.
Hooker Bismarck du Plessis limped off the field, after having rolled his ankle. However, Plumtree said the medical staff did not seem too concerned about it.
Lock Gerhard Mostert played club rugby at the weekend, while Springbok Adrian Jacobs is still three to four weeks away.
Other second rows, Alistair Hargreaves and Ross Skeate, both picked up groin strains during the course of last week.
However, Plumtree said both should be available to face the Blue Bulls in Durban on Saturday.
Louis Ludik wasn't far off playing either and should also be ready for Saturday's match against the Bulls.
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