Mike Greenaway
It will be Plumtree versus Plumtree on Friday night when the Sharks play the Scarlets in Llanelli in a United Rugby Championship fixture.
Coach John Plumtree of the Sharks will wish his son, Taine, a good game for the Welsh team, but not too good. The 24-year-old Taine returned from a five-month injury layoff last week and played against Edinburgh.
Taine plays the same position as his father did for Natal in the early 1990s, flank, and was in the Wales team until injury struck in November.
The Sharks go to northern Wales having lost a United Rugby Championship battle in Glasgow at the weekend but Plumtree sees it as a tactical loss that is part of the Challenge Cup war to be won.
The big prize, of course, is the Challenge Cup, and losing with honour against the Warriors with a B team was a positive step toward the May 4 Cup semi-final against Clermont in London.
The intermediate step is Friday’s visit to the Scarlets. This game will be treated as a dress rehearsal for the following week’s Cup semi-final at The Stoop.
The big guns that were kept back in Durban for the Warriors game will be back in action. The likes of Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Jaden Hendrikse, Lukhanyo Am, Aphelele Fassi and Makazole Mapimpi joined the squad in Llanelli yesterday.
“We needed those guys to have a break. They carried a big workload during the last five weeks,” Plumtree said. “Some of them, like Eben, needed a complete rest while others did light conditioning work.
“This three-match tour culminates in the Cup semi and the boys are excited. We had a very nice week in Glasgow, spirits are high and even though we lost to the Warriors, there was more good stuff than bad.
“I asked for a big effort and got it,” the coach said. “The game was about testing depth and creating competition for places and I’m pleased with the results.”
It will be interesting to see which team Plumtree picks to face the Scarlets. He will probably ease a few of the returning star forwards into the game from the bench and the team that finishes in Llanelli will likely be close to the side that starts against Clermont.
Among those who put their hands up in Glasgow was the combative young lock Corne Rahl, who is clearly learning from the master, Etzebeth. The 21-year-old got stuck into the Warriors and with a 2.03m frame, he will fill out into a beast.
Eduan Keyter showed plenty of pluck on the wing and, in the second half, Vincent Koch came on and was impressive in the scrums.
The Sharks finished stronger than Glasgow. The home side were packed with Scottish internationals but could not score a point in the second half and were frustrated to miss out on the try-scoring bonus point.
The Scarlets are languishing in 14th place in the URC, just below the Sharks, and at the weekend got hammered 43-18 by Edinburgh, who have twice lost to the Sharks in the last month.
After this tour, the Sharks finish their season with three home URC matches, against Benetton, Cardiff and the Bulls. Dare we mention there could also be a Challenge Cup final in mid-May?