Mike Greenaway
In the euphoria of the Sharks’ 31-21 defeat of Clermont in the Challenge Cup semi-final, it has been almost forgotten that the Clermont forwards dominated their Springbok-laden foe for much of the game.
It was a revelation to see a Sharks scrum packing Ox Nche, Eben Etzebth, Vincent Koch and Bongi Mbonbambi going backward and losing the ball in the line-outs.
That was not how the narrative was meant to read but it is a fact that the Sharks forwards were second-best for a long period of the semi-final.
They did come right in the fourth quarter of the game but coach John Plumtree will not hold back in letting his forwards know that they were not at their best.
“The forwards won’t be happy. We have so much confidence in our scrum and our line-out and potentially that is a gift for us,” Plumtree stressed.
“But we didn’t get on top in that department. It will make us work harder. We knew they were a good contesting side up front. It didn’t go all our way but it gives us something to focus on in the next game.”
The Sharks have two URC games to prepare for the final against Gloucester on May 24 and it is possible Plumtree will rest some of his top players in this week’s home match against Benetton and then use next week’s home match against Cardiff as a full dress rehearsal.
The most important thing is that the Sharks came together as a team in the semi-final. At 31-18, they looked gone but they fought back. When Plumtree retook the reins of the Sharks in July last year, he likened his new job to caring for a toddler.
New CEO John Smit had sacked the big Kiwi at the end of 2012 and the 11 years he spent away from Durban meant some seismic changes at The Tank.
Not long after his reappointment, he said: “A lot has changed in my absence and while my love for the Sharks is undiminished, I see a lot that is not right and I doubt I will get sustained success until I have changed some structural issues. I feel I have a baby in my hands that needs nurturing and showing what is important in life.”
More than anything, the 59-year-old saw a problem with the team’s culture. He saw a group of well-paid mercenaries who had scant knowledge of or respect for the history of the Sharks.
Plumtree asked the public for patience as losses mounted in the United Rugby Championship.
“It takes time to rebuild the culture of the team and to get the players to understand the foundations required for a winning team. It doesn’t just happen.”
It has taken Plumtree almost a year to get it right and the moment of clarity came 10 minutes into the second half of the Sharks’ Challenge Cup semi-final against Clermont at the weekend.
The Durbanites looked dead and buried at 31-18 but suddenly a switch flicked. They pulled themselves together and played with enormous passion. Eben Etzebeth transformed into a monster and inspired his teammates with an adamant refusal to lose.
“The character I had been speaking about for months suddenly came through,” said Plumtree. “We were in a dire position but the leaders took over and explained how we were going to win the match.
“At half-time we spoke about being only 10 points down. We got good messages from our leaders. I felt if we could get our game going, playing a bit more with the ball and creating more pressure and with a bit of luck, we could pinch the game. It was a case of never giving up.
“This is where I want to go with this team. After winning that game when all seemed lost, the guys understand now what can be achieved by collective hunger.”
The emotion on the faces of the Sharks players suggested they understood what the coach had been banging on about for a year.