Head coach John Plumtree is searching for positives as the winless Sharks head home following a historic loss to Zebre Parma in Italy on Friday.
The Durbanites finished their four-week season-opening tour in the Vodacom URC on a low with a 12-10 defeat at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.
It was Zebre’s first win in 18 months, ending a 28-game losing streak for the Italians in all competitions, while it saw the Sharks continue their worst start to a URC campaign.
Plumtree’s men will return to Durban rooted to the bottom of the table, and the Kiwi tactician is looking forward to a “reset” back at The Shark Tank.
“Pretty disappointed with the result. Tight game, tough game. The yellow and red cards didn’t help,” he was quoted post-match in the media.
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“A lot of our basic skill sets let us down tonight, just losing the aerial battle was a key thing that allowed them to dominate territory.
“We had a couple of nice moments on attack, but really didn’t capitalise on the opportunities that were available.
“I was proud of the effort around our goal-line defence and a lot of young players really stood up physically.”
Plumtree added: “Disappointing tour. We could have picked up a win or two. That didn’t happen. We are looking forward to getting back home now and we will reset and work hard to get some momentum going and improve our results at home.”
The Sharks will face Connacht at Kings Park next Saturday.
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