There were contrasting emotions going through the coaches’ minds following The Sharks’ 64-7 defeat of the Rebels at KINGS PARK in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Saturday evening.

Official Sharks Media Release

It was a record for both sides: The Sharks creating their biggest ever winning margin (57 points) and the Rebels suffering the biggest defeat since they came onto the Super Rugby scene in 2011.

Rebels coach Damien Hill said it quite simply: “We just did not show up.”

“This was embarrassing, the worst defeat of my coaching career and probably the worst defeat in Rebels’ history. You have to be prepared to shed blood on the field when you play The Sharks at KINGS PARK.  We did not and we were hammered. I question the pride of the players and whether they want to be here.

“Our execution was poor and we gifted The Sharks possession.  And then we panicked. This is the lowest point in my coaching career and in the history of Rebels’ rugby.”

For Sharks coach John Plumtree, 10 tries from his charges was proof that they are a force to be reckoned with.

“That felt good, it felt good all the way actually,” he said smiling after the game. “Seldom in Super Rugby do you have the luxury of the contest being over way before the final whistle, it’s a nice change for us.”

The way they played, the result (and all the tries) was obviously a reaction to the previous week’s loss and Plumtree confirmed that he was very happy with the way his team responded.

“I thought we’d be pretty determined this week but I didn’t quite imagine that score-line of course. We were accurate in pretty much every area of the game. We didn’t give away those 50-50 passes, we held onto the ball and built pressure. People might say that the Rebels are not a great side but they haven’t been put away like that for a long time, perhaps in their history.  We were nice and accurate and it was a great response which was the challenge for the boys this week.”

Having made a number of changes to the team, The Sharks coach admitted that he was thrilled with the way his players performed, not that he expected any different.

“I was really confident in all the team changes, in fairness they paid me back for their selection and that’s great. For me to be able to have some choices now, even with all the injuries we have, is valuable.”

So what did The Sharks do differently last week in training?

“Nothing changed in our preparations, barring one or two things in attitude,” said Plumtree.

Injury concerns for The Sharks include Marcell Coetzee who has a mild concussion and Lwazi Mvovo who hurt his hand.  But for now, a rest beckons and four log points from a bye is a good way to enjoy the Easter weekend before facing the Crusaders at KINGS PARK on Friday 5 March.