It appears that Sharks coach John Plumtree will be sacked if they don’t have success on their Super 14 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Even the support from the Sharks’ rugby bosses appears lukewarm after the team lost their first three matches in this year’s competition.

It was reported this week that Sharks coach John Plumtree was not prepared to comment when he was asked whether the coach’s job is safe.

And, to make things worse, the Waratahs have stated that they will have no mercy for the struggling Sharks in Sydney on Saturday.

The Sharks have a poor record in Sydney. The last time that they won there was in 2000.

Of the eight games they have played there against the Waratahs, they have won only two.

“It’s sometimes a case that a team full of champion players like the Sharks aren’t a champion team,” Waratahs prop Al Baxter told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said that he realised how dangerous a wounded side like the Sharks could be.

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The Sharks face the Griquas in a crucial Currie Cup clash on Saturday, but John Plumtree will be sweating over the fitness of some key Springbok players.

While there is every chance that Springbok captain John Smit might be fit to face Griquas, it looks unlikely that Bok lock Johann Muller will join him in the squad.

“John is getting better, he’s had a bruised nerve in his neck and had some strength loss down one arm, but it’s coming back and I’m hoping he might be ready for this week,” the Sharks coach told a media briefing.

“However, Johann is getting frustrated with his arm [fractured back in Week One].

“It just doesn’t seem to be coming right, every time he takes a knock, it flares up.”

The Sharks need to take a full-house of five points from their final league match, in Kimberley, if they hope to keep alive their dream of a home Final.

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