‘Something is not right’: Shark tank in turmoil

Kings Park is a place of heartache at the moment with head coach John Plumtree told to stand down at the end of the season, the hunt for a technical adviser to immediately assist him commencing, and the whole Sharks rugby system being put under scrutiny.

Plumtree may be the one person to be held accountable for the Sharks’ underperformance, but there is consensus the problem is not just him, there has to be something else in their rugby structures or culture that is preventing them from being the top side their resources suggest they should be.

Plumtree will shift into a mentoring and advisory position next year.

Former Sharks legends have backed Plumtree as a fine coach, but they are baffled as to what exactly is the problem at the Sharks.

“It’s so hard when a franchise with such a long and proud history doesn’t perform, even though they have so many star players. They just can’t bring it together and they have really underperformed,” said Stefan Terblanche, who played 122 SuperRugby games for the Sharks.

“Yes, they’ve won two watered-down Currie Cups and won the Challenge Cup, which made us excited because we hoped it would be a pathway to doing well in the Champions Cup. But it’s been frustrating. You don’t mind losing, but you want the team to play better, especially with the players and coaching staff that they have.

“So something is not right, something is not the way it should be at Kings Park. And it’s going to be very challenging for John to continue as head coach until the end of the season, knowing that he’s going to be replaced but kept in the system. He’ll have to manage as best he can, but knowing he is stepping down will make it tough,” Terblanche told the Sunday Times at the Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational at Sun City.

Terblanche was 32 years old, his career still a long way from going west into the sunset, when he returned to the Sharks for a second stint in 2007, the same year Plumtree began coaching for the first time at Kings Park.

“I was still contracted by Ospreys but I went to train with the Sharks one day in the off-season in 2007. The next morning I got a phone call asking whether I was willing to play for them just short-term. I really enjoyed John as a coach and saw out my contact with Ospreys before signing with the Sharks again for another four years.

“Whether the younger generation enjoy John, I’m not sure. But he has coached with Ireland and the All Blacks so he clearly has a lot to offer. As head coach though he has to look after the playing loads. Other teams in the URC, from Wales and Ireland for example, have central contracts and perhaps that’s something South Africa should look at, or maybe there should be no caps on budgets or numbers,” former Springbok wing Terblanche said.

Former Sharks flyhalf Butch James also felt unable to go out on a limb and identify exactly what the problem at Kings Park is, but also backed Plumtree as a coach.

“It’s pretty obvious that the Sharks have not performed the way they should be. They seemed to have battled with their defence and their attack, which unfortunately is 100% of the game. But I’m not close to the camp and I’m not sure what the problem is. What I’ve read is that the senior players took a stance and John Plumtree stepped down.

“John is a brilliant coach though, he was good with the All Blacks. But sometimes a coach just doesn’t fit in with a group of players, it’s happened to lots of brilliant coaches, every one probably has it happen at least once, sometimes things just don’t work out with a team,” 2007 World Cup winner James said.

Choosing Plumtree’s successor is going to be as major a decision for the Sharks board as picking a new Pope is for the Catholic Church, and James said it was vital they made the right appointment.

“John is obviously a very capable coach, but you look at the guys below him and ask did he inherit them? The head coach needs to be a man-manager and ensure the team have a style and an idea of how they want to play. The coaches underneath need to implement that.

“The Sharks have to get a top international figure in, like a Johan Ackermann at the Bulls or an Eddie Jones. The Sharks should be spending their money on a head coach rather than lots of Springboks,” James said.

There have been sparks, but everyone expected more from them. Maybe there are cultural issues, but the environment just doesn’t seem to speak to high performance

—  Jean de Villiers

Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers provided insight from outside the Sharks circle and said their rivals from the Western Cape were also surprised by the franchise’s decline.

“The Sharks have been disappointing, especially for a franchise with such a rich history. And they have fantastic backing from an equity point of view, lots of coaching experience and world-class players,” he said.

“But they have not been able to convert any of those into meaningful performances week in and week out. There have been sparks, but everyone expected more from them. Maybe there are cultural issues, but the environment just doesn’t seem to speak to high performance. Something is missing and they need to identity it and rectify it.”

Attack is one of the main boughs of a team’s playing tree and De Villiers said he felt the Sharks did not have a clear enough offensive foundation.

“In terms of attacking structure, you can try to be physically dominant and run into the wall until it breaks, but there needs to be an added layer. I struggle to see the way they want to play, what shape they have.

“That speaks to recruitment as well. The Sharks seem to buy players whether they fit in with their system or not. That’s why it seems like Springboks have not settled there the way they want to, even though they have so much to offer,” De Villiers said.