The Sharks will be wondering if life in the United Rugby Championship (URC)n can get any worse after their hugely disappointing 44-17 defeat to Connacht on Saturday night was compounded by the red card to Eben Etzebeth late in the Boks’ match against Wales.
On the eve of the match in Cardiff, Bok captain Siya Kolisi spoke out about the Sharks’ awful start to the URC, saying: “It is not good enough.
“It is embarrassing. We Springboks need to step up for the Sharks and show the same commitment to our provincial team as we do to the Boks.”
Kolisi made these comments when the Sharks were thirteenth on the URC log. They are now fourteenth, and this week travel to Toulouse for a daunting Champions Cup match.
While Toulouse will celebrate the return of national treasure Antoine Dupont, the Sharks will be without Etzebeth, who faces a lengthy ban for a moment of insanity late in the game against Wales. The video evidence is compelling — Etzebeth is seen making eye contact with Wales flank Alex Mann.
The impending removal of Etzebeth from the Sharks’ cause is all the more galling because it was so unnecessary — with two minutes to play, the Boks were thrashing Wales 73-0.
The veteran lock, who was making a record 141st Test appearance for the Boks, will hear his fate this week and is likely to miss a large chunk of the Sharks’ season.
Meanwhile, Sharks coach John Plumtree did not attempt to hide his disappointment at his team’s failure in Galway.
“We just never really got into the contest,” he said.
“It was a disappointing performance. We struggled at the breakdown and gave away too many penalties in our own half, which allowed them to score points by kicking to the corner or taking shots at goal.
“Our discipline in the first half an hour was a big factor in how the game panned out. We did not win any of the contestable kicking battles in the air, and they dominated possession; it was something like 70 percent, and the same for territory.
“Some of our forward play was good, but we never looked cohesive and never looked like building pressure.
“We expected more and we got less. It was a tough night for the boys. There are a lot of people here who are very disappointed.”
Plumtree was alluding to the presence of Sharks owner Marco Masotti, who gave up the treasured American Thanksgiving Day to be with the team in Galway.
Masotti would have been saddened by the Sharks’ failure.
Plumtree said: “We are working hard and trying to find solutions, but are not getting anywhere. I guess there have been disruptions around our combinations, which haven’t helped.”
The Sharks have a major problem at flyhalf. They pulled in Griquas Currie Cup hero George Whitehead for this match, but the thirty-six-year-old struggled in his first game at URC level.
Plumtree added: “The bottom line is that this performance was just not good enough; they were much better than us and deserved it. There is not much else to say, really.”
