Sharks captains Siya Kolisi and Vincent Tshituka raise the SA Shield after the victory over the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday.
Image: Backpagepix
The Sharks butchered a couple of chances on Saturday, which their coach, John Plumtree, was not too happy about.
But all that counted was slotting that final penalty kick in the 75th minute to make it 25-22 when they beat the Lions at Kings Park on Saturday to claim an important home win and the South African Shield of the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The Durban side consolidated their fourth place on the official URC log and put daylight between them and Munster, currently in fifth, with six rounds of rugby to go ahead of the playoffs.
It was a crucial win for the Sharks, but Plumtree feels they could’ve made more of the chances they had created.
“We definitely squandered some opportunities, which is pretty frustrating,” Plumtree said, despite his side scoring four tries for the bonus point that brought them the Shield.
“In big games like this, you want to take those. But it was a dramatic type of game. They probably butchered a couple, too. Both teams felt a lot of pressure, leading to a skillset error. Combining that with the heat, it wasn’t probably a great spectacle.
“But I thought our first-half play created some chances out wide, and that try by Grant (Williams) was out of the top drawer. We scored some great tries but were probably guilty of not finishing some opportunities.”
Plumtree said they are heading in the right direction with their play and that the Sharks’ owner, Marco Masotti, would be happy with where they are as a team.
They struggled to get some backline players on the field for Saturday with their long injury list, but with a week off, they should have some more players to select from when the URC returns in a fortnight. The Sharks will have the week off and then regroup as they prepare to face Zebre Parma and Leinster at home.
“Those are important home matches. After that, we will regroup, look at the Challenge Cup, and see what we do in that space.
"We will take things one week at a time, though, and I really just want to get the boys that are injured, Lukhanyo (Am), Andre Esterhuizen, the Fassi’s (Aphelele Fassi), and Mapimpi (Makazole) will be back. If we get them back on board, it will help.”
Plumtree says the Springbok alignment camp won’t affect their training schedule, and several players are set to attend this week’s first session of Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus in Cape Town.
“We planned to rest everyone up during the camp. So, the timing is right for that. The boys can forget about the Sharks for a week and return to us ready to go.”