Sharks captain Beast Mtawarira is ashamed of his side's 41-0 quarter-final defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington.

In pouring rain, the Sharks conceded six tries and became the first team to go scoreless in a Super Rugby playoff match.

'We made a lot of mistakes, especially in defence,' said Mtawarira. 'We conceded several soft tries in the first half that gave them momentum. Eventually the loss was an embarrassment.'

Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold was just as disappointed with his team's performance.

'We had a plan, but the execution was poor. We talked beforehand about having to take our chances against a team like the Hurricanes. Chances like Beast's try that was not awarded and missed penalties [by Garth April]. You pay a high price for it.

'We needed to retain the ball better and kick better, because that gave the Hurricanes many chances to counter-attack.

'We should have done better. A big franchise like ours cannot lose like this. We will fight back [next season].'

Photo: Martin Hunter/AFP Photo