Plum glum after Bordeaux battering
Today at 12:13 PM
Coach John Plumtree says the Sharks struggled to play catch-up rugby in their 66-12 defeat to Bordeaux on Sunday.
Needing a win, a draw, a bonus point or a defeat by 27 points or less at Stade Chaban-Delmas to qualify for the Champions Cup round of 16, the Sharks started superbly with two tries in the first eight minutes.
But Bordeaux fought back to lead 19-12 at the break and ran riot in the second half, scoring another seven tries.
REPORT: 10-try Bordeaux crush Sharks' Champs Cup dreams
“There’s not much to be happy about,” said Plumtree. “More injuries, to Lood [Corne Rahl], Ox [Nche] and Hakeem [Kunene]. We also had a tough week with James Venter going back [to Durban due to injury].
“Playing against a really good side like Bordeaux is always going to be a big challenge. At times we played some really good rugby, I was really happy with the way we started in the first 20 minutes.
“But Bordeaux got their confidence up and when they got ahead [on the stroke of half-time] 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.”
The Sharks’ next assignment is against Cardiff at the Arms Park on Saturday.
“We’ve got to move on,” Plumtree said. “We’re really disappointed for our fans that we’re not in Europe [Champions Cup] anymore, but we’re still in the URC and we’ve got a big game next week. So we’ve got to pick ourselves up.”
Photo: Loic Cousin/Icon Sport/Getty Image
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