Plumtree wants results

Sydney - Under-pressure Sharks coach John Plumtree on Friday criticised his team's performances in the Super 14 competition, saying the team has not been good enough.

The Sharks have lost their first three games of the Super 14, two of those defeats at home. The team, which boasts a number of South Africa internationals in its ranks including Springbok captain John Smit, has scored just one try.

"It's no use burying our heads in the sand and thinking it will come right by itself," Plumtree said. "We just want to try and sort things out so we can get a good performance in this week."

"It's not very nice down near the bottom. We're not used it," he added.

The Sharks, one South Africa's most consistent performers in Super rugby, play the New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.

Since 1996, the team has reached the final three times and the semifinals on a further three occasions but have never beaten the Waratahs in Sydney.

"That's all we've talked about given the situation we're in," he said. "We're a very proud side, the team's been used to winning and we're not doing that at the moment, so mentally it's very tough. But we've got to get over that."

"You can't dwell too much on the past," he added.

The poor start was compounded by media reports in Durban that the New Zealand-born Plumtree was about to be sacked. According to South African newspaper The Witness, the Sharks responded on Thursday by offering Plumtree a three-year contract extension.

Plumtree was also backed by Sharks chief executive Brian van Zyl ahead of the five-match tour of Australia and New Zealand.

He is now focused on results.

"We have our strengths and weaknesses as a team and need to focus on improving, working really hard on our strengths," Plumtree said. "We obviously have to change the way we're playing because what we're doing at the moment is not good enough."

Plumtree is also wary of a Waratahs team that scored four tries against the Bulls last weekend and led the reigning champion for much of the match at Loftus Versfeld before eventually losing 48-38.

"It was a pretty good effort from them (NSW) against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday and to score 38 points against the Bulls, that's impressive," Plumtree said. "They'll be taking a lot of positives out of the Bulls game and looking forward to playing us at home.

"Sometimes a team puts pressure on itself, perhaps trying too hard and not being patient," Plumtree said. "But for the Sharks, it's all about making sure that what they do, they do right."

South Africa winger J.P. Pietersen will win his 50th Super 14 cap for the Sharks in Saturday's game. Plumtree has also given England flyhalf Andy Goode his first Super 14 start.

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Teams:

NSW: Sosene Anesi; Lachie Turner, Tom Carter, Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell; Daniel Halangahu, Luke Burgess; Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Al Baxter, Dean Mumm, Kane Douglas, Dave Dennis, Phil Waugh (c), Wycliff Palu.

Replacements: Damien Fitzpatrick, Sekope Kepu, Will Caldwell, Ben Mowen, Josh Holmes, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne.

Sharks: Stefan Terblanche, Odwa Ndungane, Adrian Jacobs, Riaan Swanepoel, J.P. Pietersen, Andy Goode, Ruan Pienaar; Deon Carstens, John Smit (c), Jannie du Plessis, Steven Sykes, Johann Muller, Keegan Daniel, Willem Alberts, Ryan Kankowski.

Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Jean Deysel, Jacques Botes, Rory Kockott, Waylon Murray.