Plumtree wary of wounded Chiefs
Thu, 15 May 2008 09:57
In a pensive mood: John Plumtree
Sharks assistant coach John Plumtree said his team are planning for Saturday's must-win Super 14 showdown against the injury-ravaged Chiefs without taking their misfortune into consideration.
Plumtree is not taking the result for granted, despite the Chiefs enduring a horrific week on the injury front.
"We are planning for the Chiefs game as if they were at full strength," Plumtree told sharksrugby.co.za.
"We know they've had to fly guys out, some pretty good players and I'm sure these guys will step up," he added.
With the Sharks striving for a place in the play-offs, Plumtree cautioned that the Chiefs themselves have their own aspirations that will be motivation enough after their shock loss to the Lions last weekend.
"If the Chiefs get five points, they are still in with a chance [of making the semifinals] depending on the other results, but even if they are out a semifinal place, they will still look to finish as high up as possible," he said.
"It is important for their franchise, they don't have a great history in the competition," added Plumtree.
The Chiefs are holding out hope on three of their form players and Plumtree agrees that they are a major threat for his Sharks side.
"No doubt about the injured Chiefs players, they are top performers," he said.
"[Sione] Lauaki's ball off-load stats have been scary and in the past he's done a lot of damage to the Sharks. If he's sitting on the sidelines, it's quite nice for us.
"[Sitiveni] Sivivatu is important for their game breaking - he can create something out of nothing.
"They have a couple of others who can take their places though, some good players. There are still plenty of threats and players with line-breaking ability. It will be a big exam for us.
"Stephen Donald has been in good form this year, his consistency has stood out and there is an opportunity for him to become an All Black," noted the New Zealand-born Plumtree.
Plumtree admits that the Sharks line-out last Saturday against the Cheetahs was disappointing and was a concern for them heading into the weekend's game.
"But the encouraging thing for us, as a coaching group, is that we showed more patience, something we've been driving since the Waratahs' game I guess," he said.
"We're seeing signs of getting some phases going and stressing opposition defences. We have some great players but we have been too impatient. [We] haven't built enough pressure, and have become an easy side to defend against.
"Something else that is encouraging is that in the last three games we made less tackles than previously, we had more ball - you are not going to win a championship defending," added the streetwise Plumtree.
The Sharks assistant believes the his team are a side that can go all the way.
"If we can get that go-forward ball and the backs can hang onto possession, we can beat anyone in the competition," he noted.
"We also have the set-piece to dominate every side. Our scrum is probably the best in the competition, our line-out has been around 78-80 percent, although we had a bit of a meltdown on the weekend," he added.
The Sharks will also have the luxury of playing the final game of the weekend, when all the permutations have played themselves out and they will know exactly what is required to make the semifinals.
"On Saturday we will have the benefit of knowing what we have to do," he explains, "even if we have to score 70 points. Or 10, or just have to win.
"It would be great to have a big crowd, probably our last game in the Super 14 at home this year, unless there are a couple of upsets. So if we can get a big crowd, it would help us out," concluded Plumtree.
