Sharks coach John Plumtree praised and damned the Chiefs in the same breath and also took a potshot at the structure of the Super Rugby playoffs after his team hit a brick wall in the final.
Plumtree said the hosts boasted “outstanding tiers of attack” which his tired side couldn’t contain in a 37-6 humbling at Waikato Stadium.
However, he singled out what he believed was cynical and “illegal” play which should have spotted by referee and fellow New Zealander Steve Walsh.
The visitors were unable to launch their dangerous lineout drive all night while their ruck defence was opened up in dubious fashion, Plumtree said.
“I was a little bit frustrated with some of the off-the-ball stuff, holding defenders and some of the tactics at lineouts were illegal – they were offside all the time so we couldn’t get our drives going,” Plumtree said.
“We were disappointed it wasn’t handled better.”
Plumtree was equally frustrated when reflecting on a playoffs schedule that saw his team clock up more than 40,000km of travel.
They had to face the Reds in Brisbane and Stormers in Cape Town before the trip to Hamilton.
It was the Reds match that rankled most. Even though the Sharks finished the regular season fifth and the Reds sixth, the South Africans played away as the Reds were Australian conference winners.
“They need to look at it, that’s probably what the frustration for everyone is.
“Whether you can buy another week (of rest) with the format they’ve got, with internationals coming up now, I doubt. It would have done us a favour if they did.”
Plumtree conceded the heavy defeat was more down to the Chiefs’ quality than his team’s air miles.
“It would be naive to say the travel didn’t take some sort of toll.
“But we were expecting more from ourselves and the Chiefs played very well.”