‘SA players treated like robots,’ rants Sharks coach

Head coach John Plumtree has defended his call to rest the Sharks’ frontline players in a heavy Investec Champions Cup defeat against the Leicester Tigers on Saturday.

Plumtree was in a foul mood in the post-match press conference after the Sharks slumped to a 56-17 defeat to the Tigers at Welford Road, voicing frustration over South African rugby’s scheduling demands.

PLUM TAKES A POP AT LOCAL RUGBY CHIEFS

He indirectly implied that the sport’s administrators overloading players, which was one of the main reasons why he opted to leave several of the Sharks’ leading Springbok regulars like Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche at home in Durban this past week.

“In a busy schedule, with the current travel arrangements and everything else that go with it, it’s not a high performance competition.

“It might be a premier competition, and a great competition. But unless they sort it all out and do it properly it’s come to become a tough task for teams to go to South Africa, and South African teams coming here.

“I’m not making excuses. It is what it is. When we looked at the draw, we always knew it would be a tough five, six weeks after the Boks finished the northern [Autumn Nations Series] tour.

“This is the reality for the SA players. They are playing in Northern hemisphere rugby and southern hemisphere rugby and it’s crazy, it’s crazy. I feel sorry for them. Bloody tough you know?

“We want to bring Siya here. We want to bring our best here… what a showcase,” said Plumtree. “I want to go out there and give Leicester a good hiding in front of their home crowd.

“But the reality is we’ve got to look after these athletes. They are not robots. They don’t front up every week. And right now, the South African boys are treated like robots.”

DRASTIC CHANGES NEEDED, SAYS SHARKS BOSS

He suggested SA teams should play multiple fixtures on northern tours to ease the strain.

“I think the organisers need to have a look at it and go – ‘Well, why are we sending a team up here for one week?’ We arrive on Wednesday and play on Saturday. It’s hardly high performance,” the Sharks boss explained.

“Maybe we should come up here and play a couple of games, and stay for a fortnight. They need to look at it.

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