Plumtree to take on Sharks job

John Plumtree

Wellington rugby coach John Plumtree is leaving the job this year to become assistant coach of the Sharks Super 14 side in South Africa for two years.

Though his contract with Wellington will still have another year to run, he has made no secret of his intention to be involved in Super 14 rugby.

With the assistant coach's job available at the Durban-based franchise at the end of this year , Plumtree has seized the opportunity to move back to South Africa.

The opening came when Sharks assistant coach Theo Oosthuizen opted not to seek an extension to his contract.

Plumtree played 80 games for Natal in the 1980s and 1990s. His wife Lara is from Durban.

Sharks coach Dick Muir is a former teammate of Plumtree.

"We're very disappointed to be losing John, but we understand the reasons he has decided to move," Wellington Rugby Union chief executive Malcolm Holmes said in Sharks press statement.

"He has strong family and personal links with Durban and wore the Natal jersey for six seasons."

"We have enjoyed a very successful period with him at the helm, reaching two home NPC semifinals and turning a very young squad into a genuine force in provincial rugby."

Wellington is understood to have granted Plumtree an early release to enable him to start with the Sharks on November 1, after the Air New Zealand Cup provincial competition.

The Wellington Rugby Union said it would advertise the coach's job at the end of the Cup season, although it already had a number of options such as Plumtree's assistant, Chris Boyd, and former All Blacks Jamie Joseph and Dave Loveridge as a replacement.

- NZPA