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Ailing Sharks face front row crisis

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ryan Byrne/INPHO/Shutterstock (14160333cd) Munster vs Hollywoodbets Sharks . Sharks' Hanro Jacobs dejected BKT United Rugby Championship, Thomond Park, Limerick - 21 Oct 2023
  • Post published:January 8, 2024

The Sharks’ dismal 20-18 home loss to the Lions in the United Rugby Championship this past weekend may have come at a greater cost than just their pride.

The side remain rooted to the foot of the URC table with a single victory from nine matches, their season going from bad to worse as they let a 18-3 halftime lead slip.

As bad as their results have been on the pitch, they have a mounting injury crisis off it, especially in the front row, with Hanro Jacobs the latest set for a spell on the sidelines.

“Hanro Jacobs appears to have damaged his AC (shoulder) joint,” coach John Plumtree told Rugby365. “I’m not sure what that looks like. It is an issue, having lost another prop.”

The front row crisis in the team means they have already signed a New Zealand import in Joel Hintz, who has come off the bench in the last two games. The 27-year-old could now be forced into a starting role.

“I’m getting sick of making losing speeches. It’s disappointing for the fans, we’ve let them down. We got a bloody good crowd here,” Plumtree said in the wake of their latest loss at King’s Park.

“We’ve got a few problems that we need to look at. We were in control of that game and lost our grip, with no disrespect to the Lions. We didn’t help ourselves.

“All the little things that went for us in the first half, we went away from later. The Lions did put us under more pressure, which is credit to them, but our game management around how we dominated territory just disappeared and we’ll have to dig a little deeper into the decision-making of our leaders.

“Every coach feels under pressure when you’re going through a patch like this. It’s perfectly natural. We’re all working really hard and trying our best, but we know what the plan is what we want to achieve. It would be nice to get some reward for the hard work.

“But, like always, I’ll look at myself first and see what I could do better, but I’m really disappointed with that second half and how we went away from the plan.”
The Sharks are next in action on Saturday when they host French side Oyonnax in the European Champions Cup.