Sharks coach John Plumtree says he wouldn’t be too worried if he were coach of the Stormers, despite the fact their home ground advantage in the Super 14 semifinals is now in jeopardy after conceded defeat to their Durban counterparts on Saturday.
With the Sharks producing what must be regarded as their best performance of the season, Plumtree said the Stormers shouldn’t be overly concerned about their slip up.
“Generally, the opposition only allows you to play as well as you can,” he said on the Sharks website.
“We handled them defensively and put them under pressure, their 9-10 combination didn’t function, we put their set piece under pressure and looked after them at phase play.
“In the first half we kept ball possession because we had nothing to lose, and kept pressure on them, even though we didn’t get the reward.”
This Saturday, the Stormers will face the log-leading Bulls in Cape Town and will require victory to ensure they finish in second spot on the log.
It is practically impossible for them to miss out on a place in the play-offs, but they will be desperate to avoid having to travel overseas for their semifinal.
Plumtree said he felt the Sharks may have taught them a valuable lesson.
“We probably did them a favour. If I was their coach, I wouldn’t be too stressed. They now know what it’s like come semi time, it’s going to be that intense.
“The difference is they will have their home crowd behind them.”
From the Sharks’ perspective, the victory showed just what they are capable of, and they will be looking to end their season with another win on Friday night when they come up against the Force.
They will certainly be looking to display the same sort of character that Plumtree said fuelled their victory over the Stormers.
“We emphasised that we wanted to play with pride. The onus was on each individual playing with responsibility, that everyone turned up. We knew it would be a good crowd here and didn’t want to let anyone down.
“Even if we lost, it was important that we put on a good show and I was proud of the way we picked ourselves up after losing last
week.”
Unfortunately, they will be without loose-forward Willem Alberts for their final match after he suffered a knee injury on Saturday. — Sapa