A frustrated John Plumtree says discipline and decision-making remain key areas of concern as the Sharks still look for a first win in the 2023-24 Vodacom URC.
The head coach expressed his frustrations after the Sharks’ 19-5 loss to Welsh club Ospreys at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday night. It was the Durbanites’ third consecutive URC defeat this season and remain in 16th place on the league table.
Commentating on the game, Plumtree said: “It is very frustrating. We started well by scoring a good try, and then our discipline let us down, and they scored.
“Then poor decision-making gifted them an intercept try, and suddenly we were 19-5 and chasing the game. We are good enough to build pressure, but not good enough to turn it into points.
“Discipline is a worry, and we have to look at ourselves. As much as the Ospreys deserved that win, I don’t think they were better than us – and we should be doing a lot better.”
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Looking ahead to this Friday’s match between the Sharks and Zebre in Parma, Plumtree acknowledged the need for his team to find belief and confidence, fix their issues, and strive for improvement in crucial aspects of their game.
“We have a big week ahead of us as we turn to Zebre in Italy. We have to find belief and confidence, and fix the things that are letting us down,” he added.
“It happened in our games against Munster and Leinster, and it is still happening now. We have been a bit slow to learn, and we have to find a win to get some confidence in our game.
“It calls for some patience, and it is going to take time to build our game, but there are things we can control that we are not doing well – discipline, decision-making and not taking opportunities – and we need to be better in these aspects.
“This week we travel to Zebre, and we need to stick real tight and prepare as best we can to win, but we have to find a spark and some confidence over the next six days.”
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