Sharks coach Plumtree laments loss of Etzebeth for semi-final in season of too many disruptions

Last week, Sharks coach John Plumtree had no choice but to keep calm about the loss of influential captain Eben Etzebeth ahead of the United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final against the Bulls, but after his team had lost 13-25, he admitted it had been a severe blow.

Last Monday, Etzebeth took a head knock in training and was forced to withdraw from the semi-final. The loss of the most-capped Springbok of all time was exacerbated by the injury to another in-form lock in Jason Jenkins, who was injured in the quarter-final against Munster.

“Eben is the best lock in the world as far as I’m concerned,” the Sharks coach said.

“He’s our captain, and he inspires those around him. When he’s in our group, it’s probably a different pack, so it was a massive loss for us.

"Jason, as well, has played so well this year. Two big men who carry really well for us and can win the ball.”

With the Sharks’ season over, Plumtree paused to reflect on a season that had some rough patches. But the Sharks hung in over the eight months of the regular URC season to finish third on the points table before running the Bulls close in a semi-final.

“There were really tough periods of the season, especially after the November internationals when we had tired Boks coming back. How we can compete in the tournament with players who have just played 14 internationals is a challenge.

“And then after Christmas, they go through their Springbok resting, and it’s about navigating that period with the rest of the team. We also had 18, 19 injuries at one stage, which was a crisis.

“When you do finally get everyone back in, it’s about where you’re sitting on the log and how you can progress in two tournaments (the URC and Champions and Challenge Cups). The key for us is to make sure we have the depth in our squad to do well without the Springboks.”

As disappointed as he was, Plumtree’s wry sense of humour was intact.

“Coaching the Sharks is not for the faint-hearted; it keeps me awake at night,” he laughed.

Plumtree added: “It was a frustrating performance from us. I’ve been to Loftus enough with the team to know that if I played that game in my mind during the week, it would play out during the game.

“That’s why I felt good at half-time. I felt we were winning the territory battle, and we had enough opportunities, but we just didn’t quite finish it off, and just had to do that in the second half.

“When Ethan Hooker scored, we got back in the game but then in the last 20 minutes, we didn’t cash in on our opportunities at all.

“We’ve been good at finishing off games in the last couple of weeks, which probably has been a strength, but we didn’t manage to do it tonight.”