John Plumtree (File)

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Durban - Despite their 15-10 home loss to Western Province, Sharks coach John Plumtree was encouraged by the intensity and commitment his players showed, which he thought boded well for their chances in the last two matches of the competition.

"Rugby can be cruel at times. You can have things taken away from you, even if you don’t deserve it. But if we can compete like this in the last two games, who knows what we can achieve," said Plumtree.

"I thought it was a pretty willing contest by both teams, it was very physical and it came down to one little thing that made the difference, which was obviously a charge down from Freddy’s (Michalak) kick."

Western Province were in danger of dropping out of the top four on the log, but a late try from scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage stole the victory over the defending champions. Their coach Allister Coetzee said his charges made less errors than the home side to earn the win.

"It wasn’t a good game, but I think our guys were very efficient, especially our pack," said Coetzee.

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