Stormers must stay sensible
11 Mar 2010
Forget an expansive performance. Aggressive defence, clinical lineout work and an abrasive breakdown display will set the stage for a win over the Hurricanes.
Ever the diplomat, Allister Coetzee said the Stormers will keep the ball in hand on Saturday. For those desperate for the Sevens-style touch rugby showcased in the Lions vs Chiefs fixture, this may be cause for excitement. For those who took note of Coetzee’s comments earlier in the week, it’s clear the Stormers will keep with a more sensible approach.
Ball retention is the Stormers’ priority, and this means the Cape franchise will look to make better use of their possession than they have in previous weeks. The decision-making hasn’t been great, as players have often kicked when the run was on, or run from their own territory when the clearance was more prudent. They’ve also dropped the ball at crucial moments, and a number of try-scoring opportunities have gone begging.
Against bottom-four teams like the Lions and Highlanders, it’s not a big deal, but you can’t squander chances against teams like the Hurricanes. The Stormers missed out against the Brumbies, and they’ve no doubt taken a lesson from that error-strewn defeat.
You can’t set out to beat a team like the Canes with an all-out attack. As disjointed as the Kiwis are at the moment, they have the individuals capable of turning the spilled passes that have characterised the Stormers backline’s season into try-scoring chances. They are lethal on the counter, but are limited if you tighten your approach.
The Stormers defence has been nothing short of magnificent. They’ve conceded two tries and 48 points in four matches. The miserly Crusaders are a distant second with seven tries and 84 points conceded. The Stormers’ line defence has been impresssive, but so too has their defence at the breakdown. Schalk Burger and Francois Louw have worked well together under the new laws, and pose a big threat to the Canes at the tackle.
The lineout is another strong point, and after two tries earned through powerful mauls that would’ve had northern hemisphere critics out of their armchairs, why would they want to move away from what works? Sure the Canes pack has several All Black individuals, but as the early rounds have proved, they’re not nearly as dangerous as a unit.
Coetzee wants his backline attack to keep striving for that elusive synergy, and has even uttered the Peter de Villiers phrase of ‘when we come off, we’re going to be one helluva force’. You have to appreciate what the Stormers are trying to do in their quest to become the complete team. Their scrum is steady, their breakdown and lineout is thriving, their defence is top of the competition and their kicking game, although still lacking distance, is working. The backline attack is the only concern, but now is not the time to ‘keep trying’.
The Canes thrive in broken play, so why give them the opportunity of scooping a knock on and scoring at the other end of the park? The Stormers have already beaten the Waratahs, they should have beaten the Brumbies and are favourites to beat the Hurricanes. An ugly win will suffice when you’re playing the top teams. As it is in Test rugby, you shouldn’t increase the risk by persisting with something that is yet to come off.
The Stormers’ finishing requires work, but these ambitions need to be placed on hold for the time being. The Canes are too great a counter-attacking threat, and as any coach will tell you, you don’t play to the opposition’s strengths. As Coetzee himself has said, the Stormers want to starve the Canes of possession, and that begins with respecting your own ball. This means playing tighter, smarter rugby.
Whether it rains in Cape Town this Saturday or not, the humidity afflicting the Mother City at present is hardly conducive to an expansive spectacle. These conditions will suit the hosts in what some may call a more conservative approach and others may call a winning one. As a team, the Canes have shown nothing to suggest they’ll trouble the Stormers at home, but of course, this all depends on the Cape side staying true to their winning formula.
By Jon Cardinelli
367 Comments
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11 Mar 2010, 09:18 am
Thursdays are sooooo long! Roll on rugby.
11 Mar 2010, 09:19 am
Need to take risks with superbru:
Went Chiefs, Brumbies and Lions. Risky yes.
11 Mar 2010, 09:20 am
@rossoneri: think it says more about Lams coaching then anything else really, Super 14 is a step up from ANZCup, he is being found out…
Tialata plays for the Canes, but the forwards they arent playing collectively, and thats whats hurting them… no one keen to do the hard graft, game against the Saders no one was really cleaning out, they were all hanging off the rucks.. cant afford that in this comp…
11 Mar 2010, 09:21 am
@Bill Reyts: They do take long. It’s hell! LOL!
11 Mar 2010, 09:21 am
Top of the mornin everybody!!!
I really hope the backline fires on Saturday, I think when they do it’s gonna be awesome.
11 Mar 2010, 09:22 am
@poppa69: Sorry yes. Tialata is with the Canes.
And correct again about Lam. Something needs to click and as much as Nucifora was fired after 2008, he managed to get the Blues to fire.
11 Mar 2010, 09:23 am
@rossoneri: It is too. Must say I’m enjoying this season, even though my team is disappointing. Supporting the Bulls and Stormers too. We need strong franchises for 2011.
11 Mar 2010, 09:26 am
@wpw: @ 32
agree with hundreds bud…
11 Mar 2010, 09:26 am
@rossoneri:
I thought Tialata played for the Canes.
Ah, I see you noticed your error.
Kaino is overrated. He was useless for the AB’s last year!!
11 Mar 2010, 09:26 am
@ufo:
sheesh…
agree with YOU hundreds…
11 Mar 2010, 09:28 am
@ufo:
So pay up ‘in hundreds’
11 Mar 2010, 09:29 am
This is gonna be the Stormers year, I can feel it….. well I feel like that every year, but I know this is it booitjies!!!
11 Mar 2010, 09:33 am
@5t0rmer54eva:
What does that mean bru??
‘going to be the Stormers year’
I think we MIGHT make the semis but lets not get ahead of ourselves.
11 Mar 2010, 09:34 am
@rossoneri: the biggest disappointment for me is Woodcock, seems to not have regained the form before his ear infection last year… Kaino is too hot and cold, Mealamu only ever plays one way, head down straight up the middle, Boric is coming back from injury from last year too but is nowhere near the form that made him an AB in the first place…
I said on here before the season started that losing Williams was really our season, he brings the grunt like Bakkies does for the Bulls and SA… every team needs one…
11 Mar 2010, 09:34 am
@wpw:
cheeky bugger…!!
11 Mar 2010, 09:37 am
@wpw: I was thinking of Afoa. @poppa69: And Thorn brings that to the Saders.
11 Mar 2010, 09:37 am
@wpw:
i get the feeling he’s a troll just trying to get us worked up and cheering to say that he can say WP fans are taking things for granted…
11 Mar 2010, 09:37 am
@Bill Reyts: I took risks last week and dropped from 4th to 28th on the leaderboard
playing it safe this week but a number of matches are 50/50 calls
11 Mar 2010, 09:38 am
@poppa69: Blues have a bye this weekend, so that gives them time to regroup. The have been knocked by injuries so need the time. Hopefully they can pull it together going forward.
11 Mar 2010, 09:40 am
@wpw: You’re right…… I just get the feeling that they just need to click.
11 Mar 2010, 09:41 am
@Storm outta hell: The great thing about this competition is the upsets and surprizes. It keeps everyone guessing. I am so confused as to who to go with for fantasy league cos some unknowns are stepping up.
A friend of mine went with Stephen Donalds form last week and his exellent goal kicking record at that stage of the competition, thinking the Chiefs would destroy the Reds, and look what happened. Totally killed his game. Then Nonu further compounds the situation by picking up a yellow card.
You just never can tell.
11 Mar 2010, 09:41 am
@poppa69: agreed…I’ve been saying all season that Anton van Zyl should start ’cause it’s his role as well..and he complemented Bekker so well against Highlanders..
11 Mar 2010, 09:43 am
@rossoneri: yep Thorn does, but he is getting long in the tooth, so they need players like Ross to start emulating him… Afoa shouldnt be an AB, doesnt cut it in my books…
usually when Auckland rugby is strong, AB rugby is strong… so it is a big worry for me
11 Mar 2010, 09:45 am
@ufo:
Could be!!!
11 Mar 2010, 09:49 am
@Storm outta hell: I didnt get to see the Stormers play the Highlanders, so havent seen enough of Van Zyl to be honest… but thats another really important aspect, locks that compliment each others play..
think Bakkies and Matfield or Williams and Jack when they played together…
11 Mar 2010, 09:50 am
@rossoneri: s’right…more than ever any lowly team can beat a favourite on any given Saturday…did’ya see that movie any given Sunday..?.. I wonder if some of our Rugby stars are starting to suffer from that kinda superstar lifestyle…it certainly seems so as more and more of them are being busted for recreational drugs or their (holy) underpants around their ankles
11 Mar 2010, 09:52 am
@poppa69: Yeah…all the really great teams have always had an awesome lock pairing..the engine room..!
11 Mar 2010, 09:54 am
@Storm outta hell: @poppa69:
I actually though Anton wasn’t as good as he was during last year’s Currie Cup.
I prefer him ahead of De Kock Steenkamp BUT he knocked a few balls and didn’t seem to have a good game to me.
Maybe I just didn’t see him do that donkey work he is so renowned for.
11 Mar 2010, 09:56 am
@Storm outta hell:
@wpw:
Van Zyl also provides intellect, experience and leadership – he seems to be quite a good motivator of players – very vocal, sometimes even from the bench!
He might not have the grunt of an Adriaan Fondse but in the meantime I would also start with him.
I believe Fondse is just about ready to go.
11 Mar 2010, 09:58 am
@Robzim:
I really rate Van Zyl!!
How good has Bekker been though?? The form lock in the Super 14 imho.
11 Mar 2010, 09:59 am
@Storm outta hell: its all down to commitment on the day and who wants it more really…
the superstar lifestyle? pro rugby brought that I think, young guys with plenty of money and too much time on their hands…
hardly ever heard of amateur era players being in trouble like todays players… an indication on society itself too?
11 Mar 2010, 09:59 am
@wpw: He did some good lineout work…I like the grunt he brings to the pack…De Kock more like a Victor/Andries type player…never understand why PdV always replaces Bakkies with Bekker…makes more sense to replace Victor with Bekker…like for like.
11 Mar 2010, 10:03 am
@Robzim: Great that we’ve got so much depth in such an important pos
looking fwd to seeing Fondsie back in the mix.
11 Mar 2010, 10:03 am
@ufo: #27 lelia masaga plays for the Chiefs, the stormers are playing the Hurricanes
You have to worry about corey jane, david smith & the thuggish ma’a nonu. Juan de jongh & will have torrid time tryna step nonu. Peter Grant might be facing the rookie aaron cruden, if he fails against this boy, then it will be confirmation of how k@k he is (with his underrated distributive abilities).
11 Mar 2010, 10:04 am
think Anton was hard done by not getting the starting spot after a great CC…
I’d always start with him and bring De Kock on in the latter stages…
11 Mar 2010, 10:05 am
@wpw:
80
Yip, Bekker is imo the most valuable player in the Stormer team and his continued fitness is absolutely vital for the team to make the playoffs or to go all the way.
11 Mar 2010, 10:07 am
@Transformation:
Dude, Peter Grant is a good player.
He is underrated imo.
11 Mar 2010, 10:09 am
@Transformation: Crudens on the bench Trans, they are starting with Ripia..
11 Mar 2010, 10:11 am
@ufo: agreed..I was quite vocal about A/C not starting with him..Duvenhage as well,cost us the Brumbies match imo
@Robzim: Yeah,when He got injured last year the Stormers imploded,him and JdV
11 Mar 2010, 10:13 am
@Transformation: Any flyhalf looks k@k behind January…expect a better game from Grant now he’s establishing a partnership with Duvvies.!
11 Mar 2010, 10:16 am
@Transformation:
thanks Trans…
11 Mar 2010, 10:17 am
Gatiep en die Landros
Landdros:
Waar is jy gebore?
Gatiep:
Innie Kaap my master.
Landdros:
So…? Watter deel?
Gatiep:
My hele lyf is da gebore, net my valstande ko uit Joburg.
11 Mar 2010, 10:23 am
@poppa69: thanks, i haven’t checked the preview thread yet…ripia good enough but less exciting lately, when he came on the scene i expected big things from him.
@wpw: i respect your opinion chap, but Bash (as these keo praise singers like to call him) is not an international flyhalf! How long will he remain “underrated”?
The only way to get people to sit up and notice is by dominating games, look at wynand olivier, now there’s an underrated player, every week he is grafting harder and it is hard not to notice even for me a loooong time critic. With peter grant, it is the opposite, he plays mediocre year-in year-out, yet we are told that somewhere within him there’s this general of a flyhalf…
11 Mar 2010, 10:27 am
@wpw:
hiyas wpw
11 Mar 2010, 10:32 am
@sharks_lover:
Howzit boet??
11 Mar 2010, 10:36 am
aaaaaaaaaaaahggggggggggggg keo its what i hate about your site
moderation for posting an interesting article???
pathetic really
11 Mar 2010, 10:38 am
Poor referees and commentators turning Super 14 into a comic opera
Penalty try against the Lions – no sure try. Deliberate knockdown with no one to beat – no penalty try for the Sharks. It doesn’t make sense.
by tim foster-greenwood on 08 March 2010
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Luke Burgess of the Waratahs in action (gettyImages)
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Example number one – Lions v Brumbies: Steve Walsh gives a penalty try for the Lions scrum-half coming offside. OK, so it was a definite a professional foul but there was no certainty a try would have been scored so why award the score?
Compare and buy Rugby Union tickets
Example number two – Waratahs v Sharks: Kurtley Beale palms down a ball as he was the only person to beat – definite try avoided – NO penalty try, just a yellow card.
Simple equation: Australain referee = Australian team win.
It’s only week four of the season and it is already glaringly obvious that we must have neutral referees in Super 14 to preserve whatever integrity is left.
And get rid of Phil Kearns as a commentator. He is so biaised it is unpleasant and pathetic.
When Ryan Kankowski scored his try Kearns was shouting “a mile offside”. To their credit and his shame, both his co-commentators then corrected him and said it WAS a try, as the new rule dictates.
As a commentator, if you don’t know the rules Keansey, get off the air because you’re a disgrace.
11 Mar 2010, 10:39 am
thats a journo from fox that wrote that
lol @ him telling phil kearns how useless he is :lol;
11 Mar 2010, 10:44 am
You can Def see that AC went to the Jake White school of coaching.
11 Mar 2010, 10:47 am
@Transformation: agree mate, hasnt really delivered this year yet, still young though so hopefully he will improve as the season progresses..
Cruden is young as well, so happier if they just give him gametime in spurts, not up to S14 starting role yet…
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