Chiefs coach takes Stormers workout as high praise
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie and All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden said it was a compliment to New Zealand rugby that the Stormers have a weekly training session known as “Kiwi Day”.
The undefeated Chiefs will take on the unbeaten Stormers in a repeat of the 2016 Super Rugby quarterfinal at Newlands‚ which the New Zealanders won 60-21. The devastation of that loss‚ which saw the Chiefs play with magical speed and skill‚ prompted a bout of soulsearching by Stormers coach Robbie Fleck.
He warned before 2016’s thrashing that the structure of the tournament‚ which saw the Stormers only face SA and Australian sides in the pool phase‚ would be detrimental when they met a New Zealand team.
The Stormers were outscored by eight tries to three in the corresponding fixture in 2016 and Fleck has since brought in Kiwi skills coach Paul Feeney to improve all aspects of the home team’s play.
After five wins out of five this season, there is reason for optimism, but Saturday marks the first real test of the Stormers’ progress since they were humbled at home.
Part of the process of improvement has been to introduce a “Kiwi Day” at training‚ which is a full-contact session where the tempo is lifted to replicate a match situation against a New Zealand team.
“The fact they have ‘Kiwi Day’ is a compliment to our rugby‚” Chiefs captain, Cruden, said.
“It’s also smart on their part because they are adapting and evolving and trying to grow.”
Rennie said: “Yes, it is a compliment. That was our best performance last year and we’d be very happy if we could emulate that kind of performance again.”
The Stormers are again illprepared for a Kiwi side because 2016’s match against the Chiefs was the only game of their past 31‚ dating back to early in the 2015‚ that was against a New Zealand team.
Rennie was cagey on whether he had seen signs that the Stormers were more New Zealand-like in their approach based on the evidence of the first five rounds this year‚ but was typically complimentary about the home team.
“They are a good side and will be very confident because they have been playing some really good footie this year‚” Rennie said. “It’s always a big challenge to play against them at Newlands. Maybe we surprised them a bit last year‚ but I’m pretty confident we won’t be able to do that this time.
“We have clarity about the way we need to play, but it is going to require a big step up on our performance of the past couple of weeks.
“They seem pretty fit because they’re playing a type of game where they are keeping the ball alive. They have scored some outstanding length-of-the-field tries, so they appear pretty wellconditioned,” he said.
“The Stormers have always been a highly skilled team‚ even when Allister Coetzee was coach. For many years, they have been the benchmark of SA rugby teams in the competition.
“We are not surprised by what we have seen and no doubt Feeney is having a bit of an influence.” /