Sharks fly off as underdogs

Sharks coach John Plumtree is unconcerned about the gruelling travel schedule his side faces before Saturday's Super 15 play-off against the Crusaders in Nelson.

The Sharks qualified in the sixth and final play-off place after beating the Bulls 26-23 at Loftus in an epic battle at the weekend. The result eliminated the Bulls from the knockout phase of the competition as two South African, two New Zealand and two Australian teams made it into the knockout round.

The Sharks will only leave for New Zealand tomorrow night but at least they will be going with a fully fit 24-man squad.

"It's a big week for us as we have a lot of travel to get through before Saturday," Plumtree said.

"Recovery is going to be important for the boys and it's going to be a challenge just to get them fresh before we leave. When we get to New Zealand it's a matter of getting over jet lag. Obviously we don't have a lot of time to do that because we only arrive Wednesday night.

"It's going to be a big test for us, but that's what this competition is all about. We've travelled around the world already and now we're doing it again, we know what to expect.

"But the boys are excited and they will take confidence out of the performance against the Bulls. If we can front up physically against the Crusaders, you never know. I'd say we'd be underdogs but tags don't matter; it's finals football.

"We have some physical demands and the most difficult thing for us is getting through the travel. Hopefully a few nights at home will rejuvenate the boys a little bit and that they recover as quickly as possible when we arrive."

The Sharks stunned everyone with their intense 80-minute performance against the Bulls. The three-point difference was probably a fair reflection of the encounter - it was that tight.

French flyhalf Freddie Michalak proved the difference with a superbly struck first-half drop goal. Plumtree has to take credit for moving Pat Lambie to fullback to accommodate Michalak from the start of the match. Both players were excellent.

"I thought Pat played really nicely at fullback," Plumtree said. "He had to field a lot of their contestable kicks while his touches out wide when we had the ball were spot on. He was tough enough in the tackle and Fred gave us experience at flyhalf.

"He controlled play quite nicely, made some nice breaks and was a real threat all through the match, which is exactly what we wanted from an older head."

Plumtree is likely to continue with the same backline for the match against the Crusaders.