Sharks coach John Plumtree has admitted that it has been a crazy season for him due to the numerous injuries suffered by players each week.

The Durban-based side is in France to face Union Bordeaux-Bègles in the Investec Champions Cup at Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday (15:00).

This will be the second match in a week for the Sharks against a French side, following their loss to defending champions Toulouse at Kings Park Stadium last weekend.

They are in France without key Springboks such as André Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Eben Etzebeth, Jordan Hendrikse, Makazole Mapimpi, Vincent Koch, and Lukhanyo Am.

“The challenging aspect for me has been the constant disruption to our preparations,” admitted Plumtree, who led the Sharks to Challenge Cup triumph last season.

“In the last three or four weeks, we’ve faced injuries, players withdrawing late in the week, and we’ve had to make late changes. This creates significant difficulties for a coach.

“However, as a team, we pride ourselves on adaptability. When one player goes down, another steps up, and that’s what I truly admire about this squad. We’ve faced adversity in recent weeks.

“We lost the game to the Stormers (in the URC) that we should have won, and we played in Durban the other day (against Toulouse) in a very tough match.

“We battled against a strong French team and never gave up, which is crucial to me.

“As long as we approach Sunday with the same attitude, I’ll be happy, and then we can look forward to a significant clash against Cardiff (next weekend in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship) in Wales.”

The Sharks, unbeaten in four matches against Pool 1 leaders Bordeaux-Bègles, are fourth in the standings with five points after three matches. They still have a chance of reaching the playoffs if they win or draw against Bègles.

However, due to the challenging travel schedule for South African teams in this competition, they may need to shift their focus to performing well in the URC, as that will secure them a spot in next season’s Champions Cup.

“We know that we potentially need a point (for the playoff) but we don’t talk about this, but it is a reality of competing,” he said. 

“You look at your points and see where you can end up. We obviously we are heading for a win, we want to win the game every time we run out and we certainly planned for that. 

“But we compete and right now we are a point away from qualifying. We will be working hard for the win and see where we end up.”    

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 11: John Plumtree (Head Coach) of the Hollywoodbets Sharks during the Investec Champions Cup match between Hollywoodbets Sharks and Stade Toulousain at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium on January 11, 2025 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Steve Haag Sports)