Sharks coach John Plumtree hopes for level playing field in the future

The Sharks celebrated some much-needed silverware when they steamrolled Gloucester 36-22 in the Challenge Cup final on Friday. However, Plumtree admitted that it has not been an easy start to his tenure.

Throughout the Challenge Cup and the ongoing United Rugby Championship, the Sharks have played nine matches in Europe since October 2023. While that may not sound too taxing when framed like that, this obviously excludes their away games played on South African soil.

The Sharks were thrown straight into the fire last year, starting their URC campaign with four weeks on the road in Europe.

Seven months later, Plumtree is over the moon to have some silverware to show for their efforts but hopes there can be tweaks made next season.

"This is not an easy competition for the South African teams," Plumtree told rugby365.com.

"There is a lot of travelling. We are in it, and we are competing well, but a few things need to be ironed out in terms of levelling it up a little bit.

"This is our fourth trip up here [to the Northern Hemisphere] this year and I think we have been away from home for about three months, so that is not a level playing field. They need to look at how they can make this competition better.

"For me, it's better than Super Rugby and I've been involved in that for a long time. However, there is a lot of logistical stuff that needs to be sorted out. Hopefully, it will be done in the next year or two."

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