To say that the Sharks have been poor this season is an understatement as they seem to crater to new lows with every eye watering loss. This past week’s loss to the Cheetahs with a star studded 23 not only embarasses the big spending Sharks but also SARU who went out of there way to back the big 4 franchises in the URC excluding the very same Cheetahs from meaningful competition. What caused such a dip from a few seasons ago when they were in red hot form during the short lived Covid enforced season? I believe it is a number of factors which I will delve into.
John Plumtree is a great coach, no arguing there as he has been around the world and back again to the very same place where he cut his teeth as a young hard nosed flanker during the Sharks glory years in the 90’s. One major thing he is struggling with is buy-in to his new plan for the ‘future’ of the Sharks. He came in asking the players to play a high tempo fast flowing game played by most of the New Zealand franchises in Super Rugby which sounds good on paper. To play this style of game requires two very important ingredients: elite fitness and skill which he has been at pains to mention in most media sessions that the current crop of players don’t possess. I have never coached at any level besides backyard games with my four year son so I could be out of line here but publicly dressing down your own team about how they don’t have what it takes to play your style of rugby isn’t going to endear himself to the locker room. This squad has some incredible players who have achieved at every level including winning World Cups so I imagine calling them out would go down like a lead balloon. Buying into a style usually starts with building the culture of the collective which both Neil Powell and Ed Coetzee have been at pains to illustrate since they started but it feels like the players have been ambushed with a style that they aren’t ready to implement.
Nothing breeds a happier squad than a winning one so dialling it back on the overall vision of Plumtree’s champagne rugby into more manageable milestones whilst leaning on what they current Sharks do possess – large, angry forwards with speedy outside backs. A few close won games with some kick chase sprinkled in with a few maul tries will make the vision more palatable to the current crop of players. The blueprint that Plumtree wants to implement isn’t necessarily a bad one as the game is moving towards a more attack minded style with the backlash from Bokball winning with defence causing the lawmakers to to actually do something for a change. A full rebuild as Plumtree wants means he needs to rip the structure up from the studs meaning a core of young players who are hungry and buy into the vision of the ‘New Sharks’ which leads me to the next point which the leadership has alluded to: recruitment.
Plumtree has had little to no impact on the recruitment of the current squad which is an important step in any rebuild as the future can be moulded with players who fit into his style rather than trying to make a 30 year old player into something he is not. The statement that came out recently stating that the number of Bok players is to be reviewed is three fold for me. One they are a liability in that they cost the most and play the least as they are beholden to the national setup and how much rugby they are allowed to play. It is also disruptive to have a large chunk of your starting lining yo yoing in and out of the squad throughout the season so it makes sense from that angle. Secondly, freeing up the funds that the big name players suck up gives Plumtree room to recruit the core of players who can play his style of rugby and will buy into what he is selling. I was shocked that we didn’t see some major shakeups the moment Plumtree’s telegraphed appointment was announced but player contracts are a complicated business and not so easy to tear up. Lastly it also makes it easier to slip in other roster changes when you are reading the headline that XYZ Bok player has been cut so you don’t focus on the other 15 players sent packing. I expect some changes in mass from Plumtree which is what should have happened from the beginning but it will actually be easier to pull off now that the team has tangled so badly in all competitions so far this season.
It is not all doom and gloom for the Sharks as it is important to remember that Plumtree is an elite coach and he has a vision to winning at the top level ie. URC and Champions Cup so you need to give him the space for his vision to play out in the long term. Rebuilds are not quick processes so it may very well get more painful before it gets better but he will be keeping his eye on who is not giving up when the chips are down. If the Sharks kept plodding along as they did before with large forwards dominating enough matches to sneak into playoff contention and win the odd big game would be aiming for the middle. The acceptance of mediocrity is like Scotland talking about the moral victory of scoring a 90m counter attack try whilst losing by 20 points. Sometimes you need to go through these painful periods to achieve greatness and I admire Plumtree for aiming for the top rather than accepting that the Sharks will be a team that forever makes up the numbers. He may flame out in 3 years with the team being worse than when he started but at least he is aiming higher than the previous regime. Now more than ever he needs to be given the keys to the vault to buy the players he needs and the backing to cut some big names which will cause a stir.
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