Taine Plumtree has been back on familiar soil this week preparing to take on his old man.
As a youngster, the Scarlets No 8 spent seven years in Durban while his father John was coaching the Sharks.
Now he’s back in the coastal city, ready to lock horns on Saturday night with his dad who is in his second spell at the helm of the South African side.
It’s a family reunion which has even greater significance as Plumtree Jnr is looking to help the Scarlets secure a spot in the BKT United Rugby Chamionship play-offs.
Back in Durban, the Wales international says: “It’s been good being able to show the boys around a bit.
“The hotel is in a place called uMhlanga and that’s where I spent most of the time growing up when we used to live here.
“I loved it. It’s on the beach and the people are awesome here. The weather is unbelievable, not just in the summer, but winter too, so it’s a cool lifestyle.”
The in-form Plumtree, who was born in Wales while his Kiwi dad was coaching Swansea, has taken the opportunity to spend some time with his family since arriving back in Durban.
“Mum has moved over now from New Zealand, too. She got here about two weeks ago, so it was quite good timing really. I hadn’t seen her since the summer of last year.
“We went out for dinner one night and then we were round to their place for a Braai with some of my other family. So it’s been good to be able to spend some time with them.”
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As for the rugby chat with his dad, he says: “We’ve actually been quite quiet in terms of this weekend as obviously it’s an important game for both of us.
“There’s not a tension there, but we are not saying anything. We are just waiting to see what happens on Saturday.”
The Scarlets have given themselves a great chance of making the play-offs by rattling off four successive bonus point victories, the latest of those being last Sunday’s 32-19 win over the Lions in Johannesburg.
“We are looking forward to hopefully another result this weekend,” said Plumtree, who joined the west Wales region in 2023 after playing out in New Zealand.
“We know it’s going to be tough, but there’s a sort of silent confidence in the team that we are playing well together.
“We have clicked and got the results we wanted. We know how it is to win and how good that feels. Being on the right side of results is super important, especially come the business side of the season.
“We are confident within each other as a group. Hopefully we make the play-offs and it’s not just the quarter-finals we make. We are really in contention for making the final and hopefully lifting some silverware.”
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As for the Sharks, they are looking for a win which could well secure a third place finish as they are just one point behind Glasgow.
Sharks: Aphelele Fassi; Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Siya Masuku, Jaden Hendrikse; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth (capt), Emile van Heerden, Tino Mavesere, Vincent Tshituka, Phepsi Buthelezi.
Replacements: Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Hanro Jacobs, Jason Jenkins, Nick Hatton, Bradley Davids, Francois Venter, Yaw Penxe.
Scarlets: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Archie Hughes; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.
Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby & Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
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