New playmaker’s introduction coincides with Sharks’ improved form

Sharks head coach John Plumtree is quietly optimistic that the team’s fly-half Siya Masuku will continue with his impressive recent form for the Durban-based outfit.

Masuku, who joined the Sharks from the Cheetahs at the end of last season, made his first start for his new club in their 40-10 defeat to the Lions at the beginning of March.

Despite the big loss, the 27-year-old had some good moments in that match and Plumtree has opted to continue using him as the Sharks’ first choice number 10 ahead of the more experienced Curwin Bosch.

Shone in playmaking role

And Masuku has done well as the team’s chief playmaker as he started at fly-half in the Sharks‘ next four matches and played his part as they notched successive victories against Ulster and Edinburgh – in the United Rugby Championship (URC) – as well as Zebre Parma and the Scottish capital club in the Challenge Cup.

Despite a nervy start, in which he missed an easy penalty, Masuku finished an 18-point contribution in the Sharks’ 36-30 victory over Edinburgh in their Challenge Cup quarter-final in Durban on Saturday – a performance which saw him walking off with the official man-of-the-match award.

Plumtree praised the playmaker for the way he bounced back after that early setback in the game.

“He had a few bad moments in the game, but I’m really pleased with the way he recovered,” Plumtree told Sport24. “He’s still young, still learning and he’s far from being the complete product yet.

“But, you know, it is a big position to play in any club, that is the number 10 jumper, and he had a few moments in the game where he got a bit rattled.

Sharks hold off Edinburgh to set up date with Clermont in Challenge Cup semi-finals

“However, I was really proud of the way people got around him and encouraged him.

“He came back and played well, particularly in the second half.”

The Sharks’ next two matches are tricky assignments in the URC, away to Glasgow Warriors on Friday and the Scarlets next week before heading to London to face Clermont Auvergne in their Challenge Cup semi-final.

Still looking for improvement

Despite being out of the running for URC honours, Plumtree said they are aiming to improve in all their matches during the rest of the season.

“The URC is gone from our plans, we still want to do well every week,” he said.

“There might be some changes next week, there’ve been a lot of players that have had a big workload.

“So we’ll get a chance to freshen a few bodies up, which is going to be great, but it doesn’t matter which team we’ll put out, the expectation is that the boys do their very best for the franchise.

“We’ve got something to look forward to, which is way better than not having anything to look forward to.”

READ MORE: Challenge Cup: Semi-final ties and dates revealed