Former Sharks coach eager to extend stay at Edinburgh

As Hollywoodbets Sharks coach John Plumtree heads to Cape Town this weekend for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the DHL Stormers, one of his predecessors is weighing up the opportunity to extend his stay at Edinburgh.

Sean Everitt arrived in the Scottish capital during the off-season without his wife and children as he was only signed on for one year with Edinburgh.

However, after taking Edinburgh from the doldrums of a 12th played URC finish last season to their current place in the top eight, Edinburgh are eager to extend his contract. And it seems Everitt is keen to stay, pending a conversation with his family over the next few days.

A crowd of in excess of 30 000 is expected for Saturday afternoon’s game between two Scottish teams that are both doing well under their South African coaches, with Glasgow’s Franco Smith guiding his team to second position currently on the overall log while Edinburgh, coached by Everitt, are also back in the top eight after struggling last season.

The former Sharks coach has done so well in his first season at Edinburgh that his new club has opened negotiations for an extension of his contract.

Everitt was initially employed on a one season deal, with his family remaining behind in Durban.

However, Everitt appears eager to continue and make it a longer contract and Edinburgh appear eager to make that happen.

“We are negotiating for me to stay on at the moment,” Everitt told the Scottish media.

“I’ve got my family here (for the festive season) and it’s something we are going to discuss over the next few days. I’m very keen to stay. Like I’ve said before, I am not a coach that enjoys jumping from club to club.

“Building relationships with players and making them better is what I see as a reward in my job, so if I’m able to stay on and build structures around Edinburgh Rugby not only in the URC and in the EPCR that would be great. If I had a long term contract, my wife would come (and live in Edinburgh too).”

Even though his team lost the first round 1872 derby in Glasgow, Everitt is looking forward to his team continuing the steady improvement they have shown under his guidance in an eagerly anticipated game on Saturday.

“We are very pleased with the way the ticket sales have one, and I think both teams in Scotland deserve that. They’re both in the top eight of the URC and both teams play good rugby. So I think it’s going to be an awesome afternoon for the Scottish supporters to be able to come and watch their team, whichever one it is. But at the same time I think it is just reward for the players and the effort that they’ve put in that they are able to play in front of a crowd like that at home.”

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BIG IRISH DERBY

A big crowd should also be anticipated in the big Irish derby between Leinster and Ulster in Dublin that brings what should be an absorbing and full fare of weekend matches to an end on Monday night (New Year’s Day).

Ulster have arrested their recent slide by winning two games on the trot, one in the Champions Cup and one in the URC (a narrow one point win over Connacht) but need to keep winning if they want to maintain a challenge for a top four spot and home ground advantage in the playoffs.

That won’t be easy against a Leinster team that has now won nine in a row across both competitions subsequent to their opening match defeat to Glasgow back in September.

Champions Munster, after losing to Leinster at home last week, also face a must win as they head to Galway for a difficult away derby against Connacht.

URC BREAKS FOR NEXT ROUND OF CHAMPIONS CUP

The long break from the competition that comes after the New Year weekend round of matches should add plenty of intensity to the approaches of teams that will be desperate to end this initial phase of the season well placed.

With the exception of a few South African derbies that were re-arranged to avoid the festive season, the next URC matches will be played on the weekend starting on 17 February.

There’s a break for everyone except the Hollywoodbets Sharks and the Emirates Lions on 6 January and then it is into the next double round of Investec Champions Cup games before club rugby eases off during the period the Six Nations will dominate the rugby focus in the northern hemisphere.

The Sharks have two games to force an upswing in their fortunes, starting with their challenging trip to Cape Town for Saturday’s big local coastal derby against the DHL Stormers.

It is a challenge Sharks coach John Plumtree says he and his team are looking forward to, but at the same time he is under no illusions.

“I have been very impressed with the Stormers, they have evolved into a really quality team who boast threats across the park and I think they are probably the envy of many other teams and coaches,” said Plumtree ahead of his trip to South Africa’s Mother City for what will be his first visit to DHL Stadium.

“I will miss Newlands, but I have never been to the new stadium and I hear it is a great venue so I look forward to the experience.”

A crowd of 40 000 watched last week’s derby between the Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls, and Stormers defence coach Norman Laker did not hold back his enthusiasm afterwards for Christmas rugby.

“I’ve been involved with the Stormers for a while now and that was definitely the best atmosphere I have ever experienced at a Stormers game and I hope we will have another enthusiastic crowd cheering us on this weekend,” said Laker.

It might be a bit much to expect the same size of crowd for the Sharks game, but it should be an entertaining game given the commitment both coaches have to attacking rugby.

Rise to Round 9's historic derbies, fully loaded power, unmatched passion, & wild fans 🏉🏟️🔥

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— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) December 28, 2023