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Christo Buchner
Durban - “I’ve not had a call from Peter (de Villiers, Springbok coach) yet. I’m still waiting to hear from him when I should pick him there.”
That was the reaction from Sharks coach John Plumtree on Saturday when he was asked when he would select John Smit at hooker.
Of course, Plumtree’s tongue was firmly in his cheek as he will not let the national coach dictate his team selections.
De Villiers has said that he will only consider Smit as hooker for the Springbok team, while Plumtree has to date only picked him at loosehead and tighthead prop.
Smit admitted after the Sharks’ 27-3 win over a mediocre Lions team that his side had been running on empty during the week.
“It makes it so much more of a relief to have been able to pull this one off and get five log points,” he said of the four tries, with the bonus point-try coming off the last move of the match.
Plumtree said that he had to do something he hated on Saturday and that was to support the Crusaders against the Bulls.
“It was difficult to swallow, but that is the nature of the tournament. You don’t want teams from your own country to build a lead and that is why it was a good weekend for us with the Bulls and Stormers losing,” he said.
“However, we can’t expect other teams to do us favours. We have to determine our own destiny by winning games.”
He added that the players had responded well to the pressure put on them during the week.
“We played some good rugby, but were not patient enough when we got close to their try-line. We made minor tweaks to our defence and it worked. In this competition the Crusaders remain the team that sets the standard. If we can get to their level, there is a realistic chance that we can still win the tournament,” said Plumtree.
Durban - “I’ve not had a call from Peter (de Villiers, Springbok coach) yet. I’m still waiting to hear from him when I should pick him there.”
That was the reaction from Sharks coach John Plumtree on Saturday when he was asked when he would select John Smit at hooker.
Of course, Plumtree’s tongue was firmly in his cheek as he will not let the national coach dictate his team selections.
De Villiers has said that he will only consider Smit as hooker for the Springbok team, while Plumtree has to date only picked him at loosehead and tighthead prop.
Smit admitted after the Sharks’ 27-3 win over a mediocre Lions team that his side had been running on empty during the week.
“It makes it so much more of a relief to have been able to pull this one off and get five log points,” he said of the four tries, with the bonus point-try coming off the last move of the match.
Plumtree said that he had to do something he hated on Saturday and that was to support the Crusaders against the Bulls.
“It was difficult to swallow, but that is the nature of the tournament. You don’t want teams from your own country to build a lead and that is why it was a good weekend for us with the Bulls and Stormers losing,” he said.
“However, we can’t expect other teams to do us favours. We have to determine our own destiny by winning games.”
He added that the players had responded well to the pressure put on them during the week.
“We played some good rugby, but were not patient enough when we got close to their try-line. We made minor tweaks to our defence and it worked. In this competition the Crusaders remain the team that sets the standard. If we can get to their level, there is a realistic chance that we can still win the tournament,” said Plumtree.
