Kick-chase key focus in NZ for Stormers
Coetzee says Cape side’s kickers could target Highlanders’ wingers
THE HIGHLANDERS have some slippery runners, and that’s why Allister Coetzee wants the Stormers to be thinking two steps ahead before they put boot to ball at the Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 8.35am). “The chaseconnection is massively important against the Highlanders,” said the Stormers coach. “They only respect your chase line if it’s organised and connected. If it’s not, then they’ll punish you.”
An organised and connected kick-chase refers to more than just a winger racing up-field to contest or contain a hoisted kick.
The chaser, commonly referred to as a rabbit, must be supported on his inside by an air-tight chase-line of teammates who make it too hazardous for the rival player fielding the kick to launch a counter-attack.
If the chase-line is late, short-staffed or disjointed, a talented kick-receiver will skin the chasing rabbit and link up with his back three in the hunt for a long-range try.
Just ask Bryce Heem and James Lowe, the Chiefs wingers who made the Stormers pay for a sloppy kick-chase in a 29-18 reverse at Newlands two weeks ago.
That marked Coetzee’s first loss of the season, and the similarity between the Chiefs and Highlanders, in both personnel and approach, has got the Stormers think- ing long and hard about the hazards of hoofing the ball on a hope and a prayer.
“In terms of style, the next couple of games (against the Highlanders and then Hurricanes) will be very similar,” added Coetzee. “And one aspect that came through (from the Chiefs loss) is that we need to improve our kick-chase.
“The big thing is that you don’t just kick the ball away when you feel pressure, you must kick it on your terms with the best chase line. It will be very important to get that right this weekend.”
In wingers Pat Osborne and Waisake Naholo, and fullback Ben Smith, the Highlanders have a lethal back-three combination. The two 100kg-wingers are powerful ball-carriers with excellent feet and explosiveness for men of their size, while Smith’s vision and incisive running have earned him 38 caps for the All Blacks.
In five games this season, the Highlanders have beaten 101 defenders on 478 carries, which trumps the Stormers’ tally of 74 defenders beaten on 462 carries.
“They are very dangerous,” added Coetzee, “especially against unstructured defence, from turnovers and from poor kicks.”
However, the Stormers coach has identified one area that may be a weakness for the Highlanders’ big-bodied wingers.
“They’ve got (proven tacticians with) Ben Smith at the back and Aaron Smith at scrumhalf, but their wingers are normally not kickers of the ball.”
Demetri Catrakilis was expected to be recalled to No 10 when Coetzee named his team today, and this suggests that the Stormers are eager to turn the tables on the Highlanders.
If Osborne and Naholo are put in tricky situations where kicking is their only option, it will be the Highlanders who have to scramble to cover suspect kicks and the Stormers who will have the opportunity to expose a ragged chase-line and take those kicks back to the house.