How the URC table looks: Sharks hit bottom!

The Sharks’ narrow loss to the Stormers this past weekend marked their seventh defeat from eight matches in the 2023-24 URC campaign, and they are now bottom of the standings as the new year gets under way.

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This position is almost impossible to have predicted considering the Sharks have overhauled their coaching staff and continued to recruit some top players.

However, the results have not been forthcoming, and the team’s playoff hopes have gone up in smoke.

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You can see the Sharks’ position on the URC log below

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What’s the solution?

Sharks coach John Plumtree believes player development and smart recruitment will be critical to cope with the absence of top Springboks during a “compulsory rest period” in 2024 –  slated for February and March.

“We’ve got some Springboks and we’ve got some good ones, but we can’t rely on them,” Plumtree said. “What we have to do is have a squad that is really strong, so when the Boks come back, they make our team stronger and they don’t have to rescue our team.

“You can’t buy a rugby team. It has never been done before. You can’t buy success. You need to develop it and recruit and retain and do smart things and then you get the Etzebeths and the Vincent Kochs.

“Then you become stronger and stronger and that is what we have to do. You don’t go buy six or seven players and then all of a sudden you think you are going to be strong. It doesn’t happen like that.”

He added: “They [Boks] all won’t go off together. We will have some and some will be resting. The ones that rested will come back and then others will have their turn. We will do it smartly.

“We are not strong enough to compete without the strength of those Springboks.”

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