Mike Greenaway
To keep the big guns firing and build momentum was the theory for the Sharks in their match against Benetton, but rugby has a curious knack of shoving a spanner in the works.
With apologies to poet Robbie Burns, for John Plumtree it is a case of “the best-laid schemes of mice and men can often go astray”. The match was lost 25-24 in the 78th minute to the dogged Italians, and three top Boks in Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch and Lukhanyo Am are in serious doubt for the May 24 Challenge Cup final against Gloucester.
The Sharks host Cardiff this week in a United Rugby Championship (URC) match and we can be sure there will be a truckload of cotton wool delivered to The Shark Tank because further injuries would turn a crisis into a catastrophe.
The Sharks appeared to have the match comfortably under control, but as injuries began to mount, they lost shape and discipline. A torrent of penalties helped Benetton come back from 15-24 down to score 10 unanswered points in the last 10 minutes.
When Plumtree saw the likes of Etzbeth, Koch and Am go down, he made the half-time decision to keep back three other key Boks – Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Grant Williams – as he cast a worried eye to the big final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Plumtree put on a brave face at the post-match press conference.
“I was hoping for them to get to half-time that they get through a good 40 minutes before the final,” Plumtree said. “That was the big frustration. Obviously, I was hoping there would be no injuries.”
Plumtree said Etzebeth had gone off for a head injury assessment and failed the test. That suggests there is a concussion injury and that could mean a mandatory three-week stand-down period.
“What he is complaining about now is his neck,” Plumtree said. “He is heading to the physio for treatment, but I don’t think he will be too bad.”
Koch rolled his ankle in a scrum, but did not seem to be uncomfortable after the game.
“The physio wasn’t too concerned about it,” the coach said of Koch. “I’m hoping that it won’t be too serious.”
Am is suffering from an injury to the sternoclavicular (SC) joint and was in a sling after the game.
“We have the luxury that we don’t have to play these guys next week, which gives them another week of recovery,” Plumtree added.
Zanon 🔗 Umaga
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) May 11, 2024
Talk about impact from the bench! Jacob Umaga converts his try for a @benettonrugby win💥#BKTURC #URC | #SHAvBEN pic.twitter.com/BqgryreqHY
The Sharks have a deepening problem with their midfield. Ethan Hooker has an ankle problem and is touch-and-go for the final, Am is in a sling, and Francois Venter suffered a pre-game injury that saw Murry Koster stepping in, but the latter is highly likely to be suspended for some time.
He was red-carded for an unfortunate charge at a ruck that resulted in a head clash with Benetton's outside centre Tommaso Menoncello. That was in the 74th minute and a few minutes later Benetton exploited the gap in the defence out wide to score the match-winning try.
Koster had played a good game until that point.
"Murray played well. We are seeing more of these red cards where the poachers put themselves into vulnerable positions, but Murray was a little too late to get to the ruck," Plumtree said.
"He was put in a vulnerable position where he had to clean a person at a very low position and that can happen.
"He's pretty down on it, but these things can happen in rugby and that's how these things go. It did change a lot, especially with five or six minutes to go.
"It had quite a big bearing on the result.”