First log points, then family time for Plumtree

SHARKS coach John Plumtree was only half-joking when he said didn’t need to do any analysis of the Scarlets team because he has been watching his son closely this season, just as any father would do.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

Taine Plumtree will be on the flank for the Scarlets tonight (7.30pm kick-off) in a final-round United Rugby Championship match that could have a third-place log finish riding on it for the Sharks.

If they beat the Scarlets and later tonight Leinster beat the Warriors, the Sharks will finish third.

“Obviously with Taine playing for them, I watch the Scarlets a lot, and I have been doing that for a long time now, so I am very familiar with their game,” Plumtree said yesterday.

“I have watched them closely, and they are one team in the URC that I would say has improved in every area of their game.

“They have got better as the season has gone on, and I am not surprised that they are sixth on the log.

“They have had a lot of consistency around their selection,” Plumtree continued.

“They maybe don’t have quite the same depth as some other teams, but they’ve been very good this season around injuries.

“They have a lot of X-factor, and they are playing with confidence.

“Their set-piece is functioning really well too, and they have beaten the Lions and the Ospreys, as well as Leinster, which was a team we couldn’t beat.