It seems the Sharks nearly had it in the bag before being rudely interrupted by a draw, with the final whistle blowing at 17-17 against the Dragons in Newport. Despite dominating the first half with a slight lead and contributions from Marvin Orie and captain Vincent Tshituka, the second half was a barren wasteland for points as the Dragons, even a man down, clawed back into the game amidst a downpour.
Coach John Plumtree wasn’t hiding his disappointment or his raincoat after the match. “The conditions last night were horrible for both teams,” he admitted. The game was less about flair and more about mud-wrestling, with an emphasis on grinding forward packs and a kicking game that turned into a splash contest. "It was always going to be a battle between the forward packs, the kicking game and who managed to take their opportunities," Plumtree added.
“We’re a bit disappointed with the result because I felt we had scrum dominance.”
Despite their scrappy efforts, Plumtree acknowledged some defensive heroics towards the end. “I was proud of the boys for the way they held on defensively at the end under pressure. But, yeah, disappointed that we conceded one or two soft tries,” he said. It's clear the Sharks felt they left some points floating in the Newport rain that night.
“All in all, I’m proud of the effort and the fight from the group, but we feel a little bit let down that we didn’t finish the job. Anyway, we move on to the next one.”
Looking ahead, the road doesn’t get any smoother for the Sharks, as they are set to face the defending champions, Leinster, in Dublin next Saturday. Meanwhile, the Dragons will try to keep their fire alive against the Glasgow Warriors. It's back to the drawing board for the Sharks, who must shake off the damp squib of a draw and fire up for their next clash.