Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former Sharks and Hurricanes coach John Plumtree is reportedly poised to return to Durban as the new Sharks head coach, replacing Sean Everitt, who was let go late last year.
Director of rugby Neil Powell, who has held the head coaching duties as well as his own since November, is heading up the new coaching staff recruitment process.
Plumtree was seen in Durban recently, where one person at the Sharks, who cannot be named to protect their identity, said he went for an interview for the vacant post.
The 57-year-old was recently relieved of his duties as All Blacks assistant to Ian Foster following their historic home series defeat to Ireland last winter, along with then-attack coach Brad Mooar.
IOL and SuperSport.com reported that Plumtree was returning to the Sharks, where he made his name as a coach between 2008 and 2012, before he was sacked by incoming CEO John Smit at the time.
Smit, who appointed Jake White in Plumtree’s place, later said the decision to let Plumtree go so speedily was a “colossal stuff-up”.
The Sharks, however, were non-committal about reports of the New Zealander’s return to KwaZulu-Natal, where he arrived as a player in late 1980s.
But Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee confirmed that he was one of the leading candidates they looked into.
“We are busy finalising our coaching staff for next season,” Coetzee told News24.
“Neil Powell is driving the process but it’s not finalised as yet and nothing is confirmed. He (Plumtree) is one of the guys on our list, along with some other big names.
“It’s important that Neil gets the team he wants on the rugby side, so we are taking the time to make sure we get it right.”
Plumtree won two Currie Cup trophies during his time on the field as a Sharks flank, in 1990 and 1996, before winning the trophy twice as a coach in 2008 and 2010.
He was the assistant to Dick Muir in 2007 when they made the Super 14 final, losing at home to the Bulls, and took them to the 2012 final, where they fell to the Chiefs in Hamilton.
The Sharks have set themselves an April deadline to finalise the appointment of their new coaching staff.
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