Sharks show green and gold qualities beating Glasgow Warriors

Sharks coach John Plumtree admitted his team's 28-24 victory over Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday came as huge relief.

With his team's backs to the wall after three defeats the coach had a bit of a nervy week as he made wholesale changes to his squad for the home clash against the defending champions.

His healthy Springbok contingent responded with the desired energy and urgency and helped them get the victory the coach admitted was a must-win fixture.

“I think so. When you're four games in with three losses it is not ideal,” said Plumtree. “It was a bit of a nervous week for us. Bringing all the boys back, with a short week as well with the travel back there were lots of elements that I was pretty worried about.”

The coach used the familiarity his Bok contingent have built over the years to help guide the team in the build-up and during the game. “I sort of relied on Eben (Etzebeth) bringing them all together. Just the relationships they have with each other. You could see we're a bit rusty but there were moments in the game where we got our game going and showed what we can do.”

As you'd expect with a much changed team the Sharks did not always play with the fluidity and tempo they desired but there was no shortage of grunt and grind.

“Glasgow is a tough side,” the coach reminded. “They put pressure on you pretty much in all parts of the game. They were a tough opponent first up for us.”

Etzebeth concurred the Warriors are a tough nut to crack. “We knew playing the defending champions that they are a quality side. It was great. We had a couple of training days together and it was good for the group to get through this week. It was a bit tough but we had to get stuck in.”

Etzebeth certainly led from the front as he laid down the marker, while at the back Aphelele Fassi continued the scintillating form that has been the hallmark of his season. He earned the man of the match award with a commanding performance.

Fassi agreed he has transferred his Bok form to the black and white jersey but was quick to remind it wasn't 10 out of 10. “Today wasn't perfect but the boys got stuck in and we got the W,” said Fassi who, along with several other Springboks, was pressed back into action after mandatory rest.

“It was tough. I'm still huffing and puffing. It was a good game and I was happy to get 80 minutes under the belt,” said the fullback.

While the Sharks had the gainline advantage and got sufficient traction in the scrum to bend the result their way, the Warriors posed awkward questions of their defence in the wider channels.

The Warriors intelligently exploit space and are a compelling force when they are allowed to build phases. They are equally adept at creating something from nothing as they showed in their two first-half tries and the pair they added at the death to secure two hard-earned bonus points.

That frustrated Plumtree. “There were parts of the bench that were all right but right at the end we let ourselves down giving them a bonus point. Not ideal. We will look at that.”

That late rally reinforced visiting captain Sione Tuipulotu's belief in his team. “I'm really proud of my team's effort. But I'm also disappointed, we came here to win the game. We put ourselves in a position to do that but there were a couple of moments where we let it slip.”

Tuipulotu lamented his team's poor tactical kicking in the third quarter. More often than not they would try to kick a contestable only for Fassi to gobble it up with unflinching commitment.

“We were losing the kicking battle a little bit. Our boys were competing really hard in the air but they just started to edge us there. We got sucked into kicking a bit too much when we should maybe have moved the ball like we did in the end. We will try to take what we did in the last 10 minutes into next week,” said Tuipulotu about next weekend's clash in Cape Town against the Stormers.