The Hollywoodbets Sharks suffered a crushing 44-10 defeat at the hands of the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. 

Post-match, head coach John Plumtree was unable to conceal his disappointment, openly acknowledging the superiority of the Bulls, but he did not shy away from criticizing some of his players for not performing up to par. 

This loss marks the Sharks' sixth loss out of seven matches played this season, delivering a stark reality check to Plumtree after the team's impressive victory against the Dragons in Durban just the week before. 

Expressing his dismay, Plumtree admitted, "We're very disappointed but also surprised. I thought we were a little more ahead of that, but clearly, we're still not a team yet." 

Reflecting on the previous week's win against a struggling Welsh side, Plumtree highlighted the vast difference in the Bulls' collective strength, emphasizing the need for the Sharks to dig deep and evolve into a more cohesive unit. 

"We didn't get a lot of things right in this game, and physically, we didn't look like we were in the right space," he said. "It's not good enough, and we take so much pride in the jersey, but we didn't show that. It didn't look like we had our soul. We should have been better."

Despite having a roster of talented players, Plumtree acknowledged the shaky foundation of his team. 

What a game for Stedman Gans 🤯#BackTheBulls@Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/iWMx6p4yUo

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) December 2, 2023

Drawing a stark contrast, he pointed to the Bulls, currently sitting in third place on the United Rugby Championship standings, while the Sharks find themselves in a challenging 15th position in the 16-team competition. 

"I'm not going to take anything away from the Bulls, but our team's foundation isn't solid enough," Plumtree conceded, signaling a call to action for the Sharks to learn from the Bulls' example and strive for greater unity and coherence on the field.