Sharks coach admits ‘my battery ran flat’ before stepping aside

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.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

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 today’s match against Toulouse (5.15pm kickoff), 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 told Independent 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.

“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.