Durban - Ten years is a lifetime in rugby and John Plumtree says that the incarnation of himself that returns to HollywoodBets Kings Park on 1 July is very different from the 47-year-old who departed in 2013.
“I have changed quite a lot,” Plumtree said. “The way I coach is way different. I have learned so much over the last decade. I have changed the way I coach and manage people, I have changed much of the detail and simplified what I do.”
Older, wiser and certainly enriched by coaching stints with Ireland, the All Blacks and Hurricanes, Plumtree says that he has returned to Durban to win trophies.
“These days expectations are high anywhere you go. There is more pressure in coaching as expectations go up, but I am prepared for that,” Plumtree said. “Expectation doesn’t worry me, I back myself, my coaching team, and my players and the aim is to fill up that grandstand (at Kings Park) and make fans happy.”
It was suggested to Plumtree that he has a score to settle because he left the Sharks under a bit of a cloud when his contract wasn't renewed at the end of 2012.
“I don’t have a score to settle, it is more around me really enjoying what I do and hopefully, those I work with enjoy having me. That is the space I am in now. I have been coaching for a long time. I still want to win trophies, and I can’t think of a better place to do it than back in Durban,” he said.
“The Sharks have been through unsettled times since I left. It would be nice to settle things down again and create an environment in which players like to come to work.”
For that to happen, Plumtree says he wants to “tweak the team culture a bit.”
“You will see a team that is proud to wear that jersey. Back when I was coaching here last, we played good rugby to watch, and with it came some success. I want the players to enjoy what they are doing on the field and the results will come,” Plumtree said.
“I am thinking more about a focus on the people and the environment, then the rugby will take care of itself.
“There is a style of rugby that suits the Sharks and nobody else. We are not going to copy off the Hurricanes or the Springboks or whoever, we will play what suits us.”
Finally, can the Sharks beat Leinster in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final?
“It will be tough to beat Leinster in Dublin with the injuries the Sharks have,” Plumtree said.
“Leinster are ahead of most teams in terms of their team development and in having a settled coaching team and squad of players. They are certainly ahead of the Sharks in that respect so it will be tough to beat them. However, it is not impossible and I am sure the boys are talking of exactly that.”
IOL Sport