Sharks coach John Plumtree said his side always knew it would be a tough tour but having no wins in three matches makes going forward all the harder.
Sharks head coach John Plumtree said his team was bitterly disappointed after their 31-5 loss to Leinster in Dublin on Saturday, which meant they return home from a three-week tour with just two points.
These came from a losing bonus point against Glasgow in Scotland (score 35-19) and a 17-17 draw against Dragons in Wales.
The five-try-to-one drubbing by defending champions Leinster leaves the Sharks 13th on the United Rugby Championship table before their first home game against Ulster next weekend.
That will be followed by one more home game against Scarlets before the Sharks hit the road again.
‘A tough night for us’
The Sharks, despite having several Springboks in their side, were completely outplayed at Aviva Stadium.
A great individual effort by Bok wing Ethan Hooker gave the visitors a glimmer of hope as they went into the break 21-5 down, but they could not find another gap in the Leinster defence, even when the hosts went down to 14 men after 73 minutes.
“A tough night for us. We knew the start was going to be massively important,” Plumtree said. He referred to Leinster’s three tries in the first 26 minutes.
“They come out fast and we just didn’t get the contestable kicks in terms of regaining the ball in the air. We had a few soft moments defensively that allowed them to build that scoreboard pressure early.”
The Sharks coach said Hooker’s try offered hope but it was still “a case of catch-up rugby”.
“We did our best in the second half but their defence was just too good. Once we gave them that lead, that gave them the confidence to defend really well and we just didn’t fire enough shots.”
Sharks aim to get back into the URC
Plumtree said the Sharks simply weren’t good enough against Leinster. They now have a “massive job to do” in their first two home games.
“We’ve got to work really hard and get into this competition,” he said.
“It was always going to be a pretty tough tour for us with a lot of disruptions. But there’s no excuses now. We’ve got to get back into South Africa and play very well in front of our fans. The team is disappointed.
“Collectively, we’ve got to take the responsibility to be better over the next two weeks and that’s what we’ll do. That’s the message to everyone: to keep fighting hard and make sure we get it right over the next fortnight.”
