Head coach John Plumtree has defended his call to rest the Sharks’ frontline players in a heavy Investec Champions Cup defeat against the Leicester Tigers on Saturday.
Speaking post-match, Plumtree did not hold back after the Sharks went down 56-17 at Welford Road, voicing frustration over South African rugby’s scheduling demands.
He hinted at the sport’s administrators overloading players, leading him to leave Springbok stars such as Siya Kolisi and Ox Nche back in Durban.
“We want to bring Siya here. We want to bring our best here… what a showcase,” said Plumtree. “I want to go out there and give Leicester a good hiding in front of their home crowd.
“But the reality is we’ve got to look after these athletes. They are not robots. They don’t front up every week. And right now, the South African boys are treated like robots.”
The Sharks fielded a significantly weakened side in Saturday’s eight-tries-to-two mauling. While Bok enforcer Eben Etzebeth was unavailable due to concussion, Plumtree revealed Kolisi stayed home for personal reasons and a minor niggle.
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He suggested SA teams should play multiple fixtures on northern tours to ease the strain.
“I think the organisers need to have a look at it and go: ‘Well, why are we sending a team up here for one week?’ We arrive on Wednesday and play on Saturday. It’s hardly high performance,” the Kiwi tactician said.
“Maybe we should come up here and play a couple of games, and stay for a fortnight? They need to look at it.”
Leicester boss Michael Cheika, though, dismissed Plumtree’s concerns, emphasising the high stakes of the Champions Cup.
“This is the pinnacle tournament in European footy. The idea is to do your best and win it against the best teams,” the former Australia and Argentina mentor added.
