John Plumtree warns his Sharks to be wary of a Benetton backlash

While the Sharks’ focus is on beating Benetton on Saturday in their final tour game, coach John Plumtree has revealed that there will be a big Springbok boost for next week’s home game against champions Glasgow.

The Sharks have a tricky fixture against the Italians on Saturday (4pm), and will have to play much better than they did last week against the Dragons.

But the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche are eager to be involved when the team get back to Durban.

After the Glasgow game, the Sharks host 2023 champions Munster, and Plumtree is confident he will have most of his Rugby Championship Boks in action by then.

Plumtree said the Boks need to get game-time before their November tour, after having last played in the finale against Argentina in Mbombela on September 28.

“I think they need to play before they go on tour,” Plumtree said on Thursday from Treviso.

“They’ve had a couple of weeks off now, so they need to get back on the pitch.

“But that is not the most important part for me,” he added. "The most important part is that they want to play.

“I will touch base with them all individually over the next couple of days to find out where they are at mentally and physically.”

Plumtree revealed that one of those big names has already put his hand up for selection.

“I’ve already had a chat with Eben (Etzebeth), and he is dying to get back into it. I asked him if he was off Cloud 100, and he assured me he was ready to go back to work.

“We are confident that those boys want to get back into the Sharks jersey, but the challenge is how we are going to integrate them because there are quite a few.”

The coach said he would formulate a plan after the Benetton match.

“There are a lot of decisions to make, but I can’t make them until I see how we come out of this game in terms of injuries and fatigue.”

In terms of overcoming a desperate Benetton team that have started the United Rugby Championship with two defeats and a draw, Plumtree said he had cautioned his side against a backlash.

“They are going to come hard at us. Most of their team has played for Italy and they are a proud bunch,” the coach pointed out.

“It will be a massive physical challenge against a side very good at keeping the ball. We will have to concentrate for long periods (when the ball is in play).”

Plumtree said that Italy has been enjoying extensive winter rains, and this would put a different spin on the game.

“The field is going to be sticky. They have had a lot of rain in this part of the world.”

Last week, the Sharks got out of jail when a try five minutes post the hooter got them over the line 33-30 against the Dragons in Newport, Wales.

Plumtree was happy with the result, but disappointed in the performance at Rodney Parade.

“The energy, game management, and execution were all off,” he said. “I’m happy with the way we finished the game, but we shouldn’t have been in that situation.

“When we’re playing good rugby, we look pretty comfortable and the better team. So, the stuff we can control, we’ve got to be better at. That’s been our big focus this week.”

Plumtree hinted that his team might be suffering from fatigue after starting the URC with a three-match overseas tour directly after they completed the Currie Cup.

In that regard, he made a few changes yesterday, adding Phepsi Buthelezi and Trevor Nyakane to the starting line-up.

“This team has been on the road for a long time. We’ve played six matches and won five of them. I’m including the Currie Cup semi-final win at Loftus,” he said.

“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, but getting a win here would finish off a great little block of games that we always knew would be challenging.”

Sharks Team

15 Jordan Hendrikse 14 Eduan Keyter 13 Jurenzo Julius 12 André Esterhuizen 11 Ethan Hooker 10 Siya Masuku 9 Jaden Hendrikse 8 Phepsi Buthelezi 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain) 6 James Venter 5 Gerbrandt Grobler 4 Jason Jenkins 3 Ruan Dreyer 2 Fez Mbatha 1 Trevor Nyakane.

Bench: 16 Dylan Richardson 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu 18 Hanro Jacobs 19 Corné Rahl 20 Emmanuel Tshituka 21 Bradley Davids 22 Lionel Cronjé 23 Francois Venter.