Sharks coach queries Super import quotas
Sharks coach queries Super import quotas
Laine Clark, AAPJuly 22, 2012, 1:38 pm
Not content with ending Queensland's Super Rugby title defence, Sharks coach John Plumtree wants import rule changes considered to ensure it is even harder for an Australian side to make the finals.
A classy Sharks ran out 30-17 winners over a Queensland side reeling from first-half injuries to suspended Quade Cooper's replacement Ben Lucas (ankle) and hooker Saia Faingaa (bicep) at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Durban's Sharks now face the Cape Town-based Stormers while in the other semi-final the Chiefs will tackle the Crusaders, who beat South Africa's Bulls 28-13 on Saturday at Christchurch.
But Plumtree had his sights on the Australian conference, suggesting the Reds had a softer ride into the finals by playing the battling Western Force and Melbourne Rebels twice during the year.
"I guess the points table does the talking," he said.
"I don't mean disrespect to the Australians but I guess it is something we have to look at - maybe changing their rules to make sure they are strong in every club.
"Australia has all the codes to deal with. It is not easy for them to generate a lot of players."
Moves have already been made to address the issue.
The Force will be allowed an additional foreign player next season, taking their tally to three, with the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies allowed two.
The Rebels are allowed to recruit a maximum of 10 foreign players.
But Plumtree believed the clubs needed more help to ensure the competition's credibility.
"If you look at a side like the Force, they have been struggling for three, four years now," he said.
"I know that (more imports) doesn't do Australian rugby any good in terms of their national set-up but at the end of the day rugby is not all about internationals.
"We have to showcase Super Rugby.
"That is one way to do that. There might be some others."
Alarm bells were sounding for the Reds when Cooper's replacement Lucas was carried off and Faingaa was sidelined fearing he had broken his arm by the 22nd minute.
Plumtree said the Reds' ploy of slotting halfback and captain Will Genia in at No.10 for Lucas rather than inside centre Mike Harris played into their hands.
"Will allowed us into the game because he was throwing a lot of skip passes and we read that," Plumtree said.
Genia tried valiantly to lift the Reds but their match was summed up in the 44th minute when halfback Charl McLeod intercepted the Reds skipper's pass and ran 70m to score to make it 27-10 and all but ice the result.
The Sharks set up the victory that snapped Queensland's six-game winning run by racing to a 17-0 lead in 23 minutes.
It was a gutsy win against a Reds outfit that had won 21 of their last 23 Suncorp Stadium games.
But the Sharks had made a habit of crashing the Reds' party.
In 1996, Queensland topped the inaugural Super rugby table, only to be thrashed 43-25 by the Sharks in the first semi-final at Ballymore.
Meanwhile, All Blacks No.10 Dan Carter racked up six penalties, a dropped goal and a conversion for a game-high 23 points in the Crusaders' clinical win over the Bulls in the other knockout final
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...import-quotas/
