Before last week’s match between the Sharks and Bordeaux, coach John Plumtree hinted that his team was hanging tough while waiting for the cavalry to come to the rescue, but the team’s predicament has deepened ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff.
Plumtree lamented an injury list of 15 players, including seven Springboks, as he gave context to the challenge his team faced against a Bordeaux team that French reporters are heralding as the best in that team’s history. But the plot has thickened for Plumtree because rubbing salt into the wounds of the 66-12 humiliation is the injuries to four more players.
Springbok Ox Nche, one of the better Sharks on the day, is on his way home with a reportedly serious hand injury; lock Corne Rahl is out with concussion; centre Jurenzo Julius is injured and fullback Hakeen Kumene is doubtful for the trip to Wales because of a suspected concussion courtesy of his head-on-head challenge on a Bordeaux player.
“There’s not much to be happy about,” Plumtree said, grim-faced. “It is another stack of injuries to add to an already difficult situation.
“We had a lot of players out and then lost James Venter and Vincent Tshituka during the week, so playing against a very good side like Bordeaux was always going to be a big challenge. At times we played some good rugby, I was happy with the way we started in the first 20 minutes.
“But Bordeaux got their confidence up and when they got ahead just before half-time (19-12), we had to play catch-up rugby. Doing that against one of the best defensive teams in the competition was always going to be a big ask.”
It was more a case of watching in despair as the home team raced in seven second-half tries as the Sharks’ defence wiltered.
“We’ve got to move on,” Plumtree said of the impending Cardiff game. “We’re disappointed for our fans that we’re not in the Champions Cup anymore, but we’re still in the URC and we’ve got a big game this week. So we’ve got to pick ourselves up.”
Captain Siya Kolisi was gracious before an inquisition by the French media.
“We need to play better. We’re not going to make excuses,” he said. “It’s a great competition and we began playing in it a couple of years ago. We’ll get better.
“What I admire about the French teams is that they’ve got so much squad depth,” the Bok skipper continued.
“Toulouse played a big game in the Top 14 against La Rochelle and they backed a young team to play against them and they lost by two points, and they brought their strongest team to Durban in a different competition.
“So, we can’t make excuses and say, ‘it’s cold here or this is happening’. You find ways to adapt and the more we play, the more we’ll understand how we can fit in.
“The biggest thing is making sure you create enough squad depth, and that’s one of the things we can learn from the French teams.
“If we don’t play well, of course, we’re going to be criticised by our people and we deserve it,” Kolisi added.
“If you play well you get the credit, if you play badly you take it on the chin. You can’t make excuses. It’s life, it is what it is. Unfortunately, our job is based on results, and if we don’t get the results we get criticised.”