TAINE Plumtree will come up against his father John when the Scarlets meet the Sharks next month. | Archives
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It will be Plumtree versus Plumtree next month when the Scarlets play the Sharks in Durban in an inevitably vital United Rugby Championship (URC) match.
It will be the Sharks’ last URC league game before the playoffs and plenty could be riding on the outcome as the Durbanites either fight for a top-four place on the points table or try and leapfrog the third-placed Bulls.
John Plumtree, the Sharks coach, will put fatherly love on hold for the 80 minutes but will be the first to buy his son Taine a refreshment afterward.
The 25-year-old Taine joined the Scarlets in 2023 from the New Zealand Super Rugby team, the Blues, and this week signed a contract extension with the West Wales team. Plumtree has been capped six times for the Wales national team.
Taine was born in Wales in the year 2000 when his father was coaching Swansea (now the Ospreys) in the URC, and also has strong links to Durban — he grew up there when his dad was coaching the Sharks in his first stint (2008-2012).
The Plumtrees' strong links with KwaZulu-Natal go much deeper.
John’s wife, Lara, hails from Amanzimtoti on the KZN South Coast and met her husband when he was playing for Natal (now the Sharks) in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Just how the Sharks are featuring on the URC points table will depend on how they go in the three games they have left before the finale against the Scarlets.
The travel to Edinburgh on April 18 and a week later to Belfast to play Ulster. They return to the Shark Tank to host the Ospreys before finishing against the Scarlets.
Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel says flanker Plumtree is growing into a key squad member.
"Taine has been excellent since he arrived here in Llanelli a couple of years ago. He is a big character around the group and a key player on the field. He has also become a real leader for us.
“Taine is still a young man and we are excited that there is plenty more to come from him,” Peel said.
“He is athletic, carries strongly, is a great line-out option and is a player who puts a lot of work into his game — he is always looking to get better.
“We are delighted he has signed a new contract with us and he has a big part to play in the evolution of the Scarlets.”
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