Plum pleased with gritty Sharks

Coach John Plumtree has hailed the physicality of the Sharks while highlighting the performance of flyhalf Siya Masuku in Saturday’s much-needed victory against Ulster.

The Durbanites ended a five-game losing streak in the Vodacom URC by registering a 22-12 win in Durban.

It was the Sharks’ first league victory since November, thanks to tries from Phepsi Buthelezi, Eduan Keyter and Bongi Mbonambi.

Man of the Match Ethan Hooker was a threat throughout the contest for the hosts. The centre conjured an outstanding try early in the second half, aided by Vincent Tshituka and Hanro Jacobs combining well before Makazole Mapimpi cleverly kicked into space and Keyter applied a brilliant diving finish under pressure.

Speaking post-match at Kings Park, Plumtree acknowledged the positive response from the forwards this week.

RECAP: Sharks feast on Ulster

“It was good to see the physicality of the team, I asked the guys for a big effort. We know we’ve got a talented team if we can gel, especially with all the players available,” he told reporters.

“But it takes a lot of effort as well. I thought Ulster were quite physical in contact and it was pretty windy out there, so there were a lot of forwards battles. So it was good to see us come through that.”

Masuku landed two conversions and a penalty in sweltering Durban conditions, while Harry Sheridan and Kieran Treadwell claimed touchdowns for Ulster, with John Cooney kicking one conversion.

“I thought Siya did OK, he was asked to do a lot of tackling in the wider channels and he was good in that space. He looked comfortable across the line and playing flat,” Plumtree added.

“Some of our option-taking was a little bit poor, and inside their 22 when we were building pressure we weren’t very accurate. It’s something for us to work on.

“Like I said, Ulster are a tough side and have a never-give-up attitude so it was always going to be tough to break them down.”

Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images