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Benetton bring Sharks back down to earth on SA soil
By PA
Benetton took advantage of Murray Koster’s red card to snatch a 25-24 victory over the Sharks which keeps alive their hopes of a United Rugby Championship play-off place.
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Replacement fly-half Jacob Umaga crossed with three minutes remaining and then nervelessly converted his own try in a dramatic finish in Durban.
Tries from Aphelele Fassi, Ox Nche and Werner Kok (2), with Siya Masuku converting two of them, had put Sharks 24-18 ahead before Koster was sent off in the 75th minute for a dangerous clear out on Tommaso Menoncello that resulted in head-to-head contact.
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Menoncello and Gianmarco Lucchesi crossed for Benetton, with Leonardo Marin converting a try and landing a penalty and Umaga adding the extras on his try having also kicked a penalty.
The last time Plumtree coached the sharks they sucked the same when with the hurricanes now back with the shark Springboro. They still have no game plan
It’s clear that hiring the right coach is more important than contracting the best players. Had Jake, Dobbo or Rassie been coaching the Sharks with their star-studded line-up, they would (probably) have been in the top 4 of the URC.
Very few coaches seem to have the ability to bring the best out of a bunch of talented players and turn them into a team…