As Sharks prepare for URC semi against Bulls, Plumtree won't forget the horror of the 2007 Super 14 final
Image: Independent Media
Springbok great Victor Matfield recently said on social media that perhaps the greatest moment of his glittering career was the Bulls' Super 14 final defeat of the Sharks in Durban in 2007.
The Bulls captain's opposite number that day, John Smit, said: 'I will probably never get over it.'
This was the unforgettable match in which Bryan Habana scored in the final movement of the game, with Derick Hougaard's simple conversion sealing a 20–19 victory. The Bulls had escaped in that epic encounter, but the door was opened for them because the Sharks were pitifully poor in closing out the game.
Their decision-making in the final frantic minutes could serve as a textbook case for coaches around the world on what not to do in a final.
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Current Sharks coach John Plumtree was in the coaches' box that day as assistant to Dick Muir, and he might well remind his players of the mistakes the Sharks made as he prepares them for Saturday's visit to Loftus Versfeld for the United Rugby Championship semi-final against the Bulls.
This match is the most significant meeting between the sides since that 2007 final. The biggest lesson Plumtree will recall from that heartbreak is this: never, ever substitute your captain when the pressure is at its peak — or your kicker. In the Sharks' case in 2007, they replaced both.
The Sharks appeared to have wrapped up the match with three minutes to go, when Albert van den Berg scored a try. It was 19–13, with a relatively straightforward conversion to come. Smit would likely have handed the ball to Percy Montgomery to add the two points and shut out the Bulls with an eight-point lead and barely any time left.
But Smit was no longer on the field. Muir had substituted him at the three-quarter mark.
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