Sharks will focus more on discipline

Sharks coach John Plumtree says the Sharks have to move on from decisions that don't go their way and added that he will be putting a special focus on discipline in the coming weeks.

There has been much talk about the decisions that did not go the Sharks' way against the Waratahs and Plumtree says that they these decisions, "Crop up every now and again and which are a part of the game."

"It happens and we are not focusing on it in our post-match analysis."

Moving forward Plumtree says that he felt that The Sharks were starting to look like the team they want to be, but was disappointed that they didn’t get it all right.

"There were some good signs of us getting our game going again but we are still not accurate enough," he said on the Sharks website.

"We need to get all facets of our game working well, all at the same time because when one thing goes right, we tend to undo all the good work that went into it by not performing accurately enough in another area.

"But when we got consistency going, we were able to put 15 phases together and managed to score a really good team try which are being helped by the new refereeing interpretations at the breakdowns which allow teams to string together a number of phases."

"If you can keep hold of the ball and remain accurate with it, enough to take advantage of the quicker ruck ball you can really put the opposition under immense pressure and eventually tire them out."

Plumtree was particularly disappointed with the lack of discipline which could have proved more costly for the Sharks, "I was very annoyed with our discipline and have been for a while.

"I read the riot act to the guys in our post-match analysis last night (Monday). I told the guys that the next player to get a yellow card gets a red card from me.

"When you are down on your luck and trying really hard to get out of a hole, you can’t then make it tougher for the team by getting yourself binned."

"It is just silly and stresses the team unnecessarily.

"This has been creeping into our game now for a while and it has to stop right now. "

"We were always a side that prided itself on discipline both on and off the field."

On the positive side Plumtree said that he was pleased by the way the Sharks performed in the second half, "I was very pleased with the character the team showed when we came back from 25-14 down," he said.

"We played the better rugby for most of the second half and finished pretty much on top. I was also proud of the guys because after the Crusaders game we made a promise to each other that we would not give up and they are sticking to that promise.

"We will just carry on fighting until we get that first win and hopefully get on a roll."

Meanwhile confirmed that flank Keegan Daniel took a knock to the head and will undergo concussion testing this week but "is certainly doubtful for the Brumbies game."

and "Odwa has a slight hamstring strain and will be monitored during the week."