Latest news with #JohnPlumtree
The Citizen
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
John Plumtree reflects on tough, but improved season for Sharks
Despite enjoying their best season in the URC to date, there is still a sense the Sharks underperformed, with the talent at their disposal. Sharks coach John Plumtree has presided over an improved, but still unsatisfactory season with the union. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images The Sharks' season came to an abrupt end over the weekend when they were dumped out of the United Rugby Championship (URC) at the semifinal stage by fierce rivals, the Bulls, at Loftus. It ended a much improved second season at the helm for coach John Plumtree, but many critics were still unhappy due to the Springbok firepower that the union have at their disposal. In the semifinal played at Loftus on Saturday evening the Sharks boasted a team featuring Rugby World Cup winners Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Jaden Hendrikse, Andre Esterhuizen, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi. They also had Aphelele Fassi and Jordan Hendrikse in the starting XV, and Ntuthuko Mchunu and Phepsi Buthelezi on the bench, who have all played for the Boks in the past year. They were however missing their captain and Bok enforcer Eben Etzebeth, along with Trevor Nyakane and Grant Williams who would have added even more Bok firepower to their stocks. Despite the wealth of experience and talent at their fingertips, the Sharks still finished third on the log and dropped out in the semis. But it is still a major improvement after a disastrous previous campaign that saw them finish 14th on the URC log, although they picked up the Challenge Cup trophy to slightly salvage that season. Tough balance Plumtree explained that even though they have immense talent in the group, it was still tough to get the balance right over a long season, in which they missed players on international duty at stages and had to rest them as well. 'It has been a tough season. I learnt a lot in what was my second season of the URC. There were really tough periods of the season, especially after the November internationals when we had tired Boks coming back,' explained Plumtree. '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 EPCR). Looking ahead Plumtree highlighted the need to build depth at the union, with players who will be able to adequately fill in when their star Springboks are unavailable. 'The key for us is to make sure we have depth in our squad to be able to do well without Springbok players. We showed that this year but it is going to be a continuing challenge for us to keep strengthening the squad,' said Plumtree. 'I think we have done really well with the players we had and we have managed to pick up points. Coaching the Sharks is not for the fainthearted and it keeps me awake at night.'
The Herald
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Brave Bulls forced to hang tough, says White
'It was a bit of déjà vu because we played them here earlier this season and got them down to 12 men and we could not open them up. 'It is obviously a huge win for us as a club, and we are into another final. So, that is three finals in four years, and any club would tell you that is a huge achievement. 'In that five minutes before halftime when we had players off the field, it did not look like they were going to score and that is a huge boost to the defence coach and players. 'I told them in the changeroom that is where we won it. Sometimes you think you win a game with a last-minute kick. 'However, it is not that, it is what you do at certain times and we were 12 out of 10 with the way we showed attitude. 'I say it confidently. I sat there thinking they are not going to score here because we were really fronting up there.' White said the mood in the Bulls' dressing room at halftime had been upbeat after a courageous defensive effort. 'We weren't rewarded early on for smashing them in the scrums,' he said. 'The Bulls could have been rewarded a little more. 'Thank goodness they were offside with that intercept try. For me, we could have got a penalty. 'I know the referee will say they didn't do anything illegal, and the scrum was running backwards. 'I have seen many games where the scrum runs backwards, and it is a penalty. 'I thought we could've received more love at scrum time. We didn't get love at the scrum but we still ended up winning the game.' Sharks coach John Plumtree said his team's failure to punish the Bulls when they were down to 13 players before halftime had been costly. 'We had plenty of opportunities to score before half time,' he said. 'We put the Bulls under pressure and they got yellow cards, but we weren't quite good enough to finish them off. 'We should have been closer to 15-15 at half time, but didn't cash in close to the line. 'We got held up over the goal line just before halftime, which was an absolute disaster. 'But I was still pretty confident at half time. We were starting to get our game going and had the territory we needed. 'The Sharks were a bit off our game on attack. 'Sometimes we played too deep when we had momentum and sometimes too flat when we didn't.' In Saturday's other semifinal, Leinster beat defending champions Glasgow 37-19 at the Aviva Stadium. Scorers: Bulls 25: Tries: Sebastian de Klerk, Canan Moodie, David Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen, Keagan Johannes. Penalty goals: Goosen, Johannes. Sharks 13: Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Ethan Hooker. Penalty goal: Jordan Hendrikse. The Herald
TimesLIVE
08-06-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Sharks' Plumtree goes back to drawing board, Bulls' White sets sights on URC final
After another season that ended with a disappointing semifinal defeat by the Bulls, Sharks coach John Plumtree admitted it was a tough United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign but valuable lessons were learnt by all involved. The Sharks lost 25-13 to the Bulls in their clash at a packed Loftus on Saturday where the home side qualified for their third Grand Final appearance against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday. The Bulls will be hoping it's third time lucky. They lost their previous cup finals to the Stormers and Glasgow Warriors. For a Sharks side laden with Springboks it is back to the proverbial drawing board. 'It has been a tough season. I learnt a lot in what was my second season of the URC,' said Plumtree as he reflected on the underwhelming season.
IOL News
08-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Sharks coach Plumtree laments loss of Etzebeth for semi-final in season of too many disruptions
Sharks coach John Plumtree believes his team has shown massive improvement in the URC this season. Photo: Itumeleng English Independent Media Image: Itumeleng English Independent Media 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. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ '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. This is not the result we wanted but I want to express my gratitude to our players, coaches and management for a season of growth and fight. I am incredibly grateful for all of the sacrifices made for our thriving business and fans. @SharksRugby 🖤 — Marco Masotti (@MarcoMasotti_) June 7, 2025 '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. Ox Nche of the Sharks is tackled by Marcell Coetzee of the Bulls during their URC semi-final on Saturday. Photo: Itumeleng English Independent Media Image: Itumeleng English Independent Media
IOL News
07-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Plumtree regrets Sharks' missed opportunities but praises Bulls' defence in their URC semi-final win
Sharks coach John Plumtree rued his team's missed opportunities in Saturday night's 25-13 loss to the Bulls in the URC semi-final but praised the Bulls for keeping his team out. The Bulls are through to the final against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday. 'Overall, we were disappointed with our performance; we had plenty of opportunities to win the game,' Plumtree said. 'With five minutes to go before half-time, we put the Bulls under pressure, they conceded two yellow cards, but we were not good enough to finish them off.' Plumtree said that it should have been closer to 15-15 at half-time. Instead, the Sharks were behind 15-3. 'After half-time, we felt that if we got our game going a bit more, and played a bit flatter on the gain line, we could up the pressure. We did that and scored a few nice tries. 'Later in the game, we were not good enough. Credit to the Bulls — their defence was outstanding, especially in defending their line. They had a massive crowd cheering them on, and that made it a pretty tough nut to crack tonight.' Plumtree said the game lived up to the pre-game hype that it would be a South African clash of giants. 'It was very physical out there. There were a lot of injuries. I hope Cameron (Hanekom) is not too badly hurt,' Plumtree said of an unfortunate sight of the Bulls' No 8 being taken off the field on a golf cart. 'It was great to see so many people here tonight. We get the best URC crowds here in South Africa. 'From my side, I have loved this season with the boys to get to this point, but we are disappointed that we have not kicked on. 'We had plenty of territory and plenty of ball, but we could not convert it into points. We have to congratulate the Bulls. They were pretty good, and we were just a little bit off tonight.'
