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Cape Town - Sharks coach Gary Gold acknowledged that the home change room was a 'sad place' following his side’s 34-12 win over the Stormers at King’s Park on Saturday night.
The win was the Sharks’ third in a row as the curtain came down on their Super Rugby season, but the departures of Jannie and Bismarck du Plessis as well as Willem Alberts – combined with an 11th place finish on the combined log – meant that there was not much to smile about following Saturday’s win.
"I have to say that I know that the season has been a disappointment to say the least. We know why, we are already quite far down the line in our wash-up. But the season wasn’t good enough," Gold said.
"But what we did say overseas when we got together was that we were never going to give up the fight. I’m unbelievably proud of the players for that.
"It’s a sad place at the moment, the change room. We’ve got nothing to celebrate, we’re not in the playoffs and we’re losing three key players."
Gold was hopeful that he would not be losing any more players outside of the Bok trio, and added that there were negotiations going on with one or two players that were also being handled by SARU.
"It’s very sad to lose such stalwarts. You know that top players move on, but it’s tough to lose three all at once," said Gold.
"I’m hoping they’re going to be the only guys leaving."
The Sharks coach said that there were plans to sit down now and start planning for next season. An emphasis on youngsters would be a priority – blooding them in the upcoming Currie Cup while also looking to take next year’s Vodacom Cup more seriously.
"It’s a really exciting time when you see the youngsters step up to the plate and that’s why I think we need to back them," he said.
