Sharks coach John Plumtree will be in charge of team for the last time on Sunday. Outgoing Sharks coach John Plumtree has opened up about the personal reasons behind his decision to step aside and fast-track JP Pietersen into the top job with immediate effect. Last week in Galway, Plumtree, Pietersen and owner Marco Massotti met before the Connacht game, where Plumtree put the proposal on the table — a suggestion all parties agreed on.
For Sunday’s match against Toulouse (5.15pm kick-off), Plumtree will be in the coaching box with Pietersen stationed pitchside, but from next week’s home clash with Saracens, it will be Pietersen leading from the Kings Park coaching box. Plumtree will move into a new role at the Shark Tank — still to be clearly defined — which will include mentoring Pietersen. A notoriously tough operator, Plumtree has effectively carried the weight of the Sharks for the past two-and-a-half years.
But he concedes the strain has taken its toll. “My battery has been drained, and you know me well enough — you may have noticed that,” Plumtree toldIndependent Media. “People have said to me, ‘God, you are not right.’ And when you’re a hard man brought up to be tough, like our generation, you slip your vulnerabilities into a shadow and don’t face them.
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“So people would ask, ‘How are you doing?’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m alright, head down and plough on.’ You don’t really think about it. “But over the break for international rugby, I had time to reflect. I started asking myself, ‘Am I the best John Plumtree for my wife?
For my kids? For my team?’ And based on what I’ve been through, maybe I’m not the best version of myself. “So I started thinking, ‘Maybe it’s time to ask: how do I become that guy again?’ Stepping aside might give me the reboot I need — and allow me to help someone else.” Plumtree was sacked as All Blacks forwards coach in 2022, made the fall guy when Ian Foster’s side came under fire for poor results. It was a bruising period in the New Zealand spotlight.
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