Post match review: Proud of the Character:
The Hollywoodbets Sharks were forced to dig deep against a powerful Vodacom Bulls team in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday, but when the chips were down, they fought their way through to emerge victorious.
Head coach John Plumtree was proud as punch after the game, admitting what a challenging week they had endured leading into the game.
“We had a tough week, in terms of preparation it was a nightmare with the doc reporting more and more injuries as the week wore on,” he explained.
“But I’m really proud of the effort, I’m so delighted we got such a big Christmas crowd out there, which is important to me, that we win at home and it took a special effort.
“We were under pressure upfront, we always thought that would be the case against such a physical Bulls’ pack. I’m really happy with the boys. We found another way to win which we’ve done more than once this year. I’m really proud of them.”
With many first-choice forwards out injured, the Hollywoodbets Sharks pack was under immense pressure, particularly at scrum-time, but somehow found a way to always fight back from adversity.
“The set-piece, the breakdown and our defence were three areas we had to get right against the Bulls,” Plumtree pointed out.
“At times we were under real pressure and conceded penalties, but then at other times when we had to come up with a big play, we did.
“We know that the Stormers will come at us in those departments as well.”
Talking bravery, there were times when the Hollywoodbets Sharks were defending their tryline against everything the Bulls threw at them, but time and time again the visitors were repelled. That took determination and character and there can be no questioning either of those.
“I’ve been in these situations with the Hollywoodbets Sharks with different teams over the years and there are some special performances at times. For me, this was one of them.
“Being under-strength and coming away with a win, picking up the scraps, there were moments in the match which were game-changing for us.
“One thing I’m really proud of is the fact that that was one of our biggest wins without the majority of our Springboks, particularly in the pack.”
Missing leaders like Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Lukhanyo Am, Andre Esterhuizen took over the reigns as captain and together with Ethan Hooker, the centre pairing played a pivotal role in the victory.
“We always thought that midfield was going to be really important for us in terms of momentum, especially if we were struggling upfront. So they found a way to get us across the gain-line.”
Plumtree also had words of praise for Ox Nche contribution. Not only physically but also in leading the forwards.
“You can’t take away Ox’s influence in the pack, especially the young fellas, he just kept encouraging them. Losing Ethan Bester early was a blow and Bryce Calvert was our fifth hooker, there are no more after that! I was really proud of him, he was very nervous before the game, I had to settle him down. But he’s stoked.”
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