Disappointed Sharks coach John Plumtree reflects on Lions loss

The Durban franchise's run of form came to a screeching halt in Johannesburg as a rampant Lions side scored six unanswered tries before the visitors added two at the death to add a touch of respectability to the 38-14 scoreline.

It was a difficult day for the Sharks, who failed to get going on attack for 78 minutes while leaking tries at the other end. Speaking to the press after the match, Plumtree conveyed his disappointment.

"It wasn't what we expected, we expect better from each other," said the New Zealander.

"We've let ourselves down and our fans will be disappointed. We didn't expect that to happen. We had a really good week physically [in training], but we didn't nail it mentally. You are not going to beat a side like the Lions if you are not in the right space mentally.

"All credit to the Lions. We knew it would be tough and they wanted it more and they showed that. They won most of the collisions and just worked harder around the park.

"When you are playing against a side like that and if we are not in the same space, you are going to come off second best and badly and that's pretty much what happened.

"We're just going to look inward at everybody - all the players, management. We've got to make sure that we learn from this and that it never happens again. We still have high hopes of doing well and that is a massive wake-up call for us.

"A week is a long time in rugby and this time next week we can't be feeling like this, so it could be a timely wake-up call."

The Sharks will look to exact revenge on the Lions when they host them in Durban next week. 

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