Stormers ‘fitter and better’
Fleck and Rennie full of praise for their teams after thriller at Newlands
CHIEFS coach David Rennie warmly congratulated the Stormers for their part in a “hell of a spectacle” at Newlands on Saturday.
The Stormers avenged their 60-21 thumping at the hands of the Chiefs last year in spectacular style, scroring four tries to three and winning 34-26 in one of the best games at Newlands for a long time.
Rennie said: “They certainly played their part in a free-flowing game, and I think we did too. It was just a lack of effort by us, in the end the Stormers were too good.”
“I reckon they’ve learnt a lot from last year. They’ve got better systems and they’re fitter. They work hard for each other and they showed a lot of character.”
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck was “immensely proud” of his team. The Stormers were brilliant. They stayed true to their Super Rugby Flashpoints - see page 18. new attacking approach and produced a number of superb touches throughout the spectacle. In the build-up to the match, Fleck said that they were going into the clash to “win it by tries”, and they did exactly that to secure their sixth victory in six matches.
It was always going to be a good one – the Stormers were keen to measure their progress since embarking on an attacking path against one of the best in the rugby business, they wanted to make up for that heavy 60-21 quartefinal defeat, and an unbeaten run was sure to end, as both teams had gone undefeated in the 2017 season. Until Saturday, that is.
“It’s been a long journey since the quarter-final. I’m just immensely proud of the boys for the way they played tonight, it wasn’t always in our favour.
“The Chiefs had us under the pump for many parts of the game, but the things that we had worked on and identified during the quarter-final last year, it all came through tonight,” Fleck said during the post-match press conference.
Fleck also praised his team for their defensive effort, while he also had kind words for the Chiefs and, of course, the first Chiefs try by winger Toni Pulu.
That try was something else, it was outstanding even by New Zealand standards. Firecracker fullback Damian McKenzie created magic in his own 22 to get the Chiefs out of their red zone, and thereafter the ball went through various hands that showed off with fine offloads, pop passes and a basketball-like pass (while making it look just too easy) before Pulu rounded off the Chiefs’ fantastic ability to keep the ball alive to score.
“Credit to both sides, the Chiefs are an outstanding team. You can only applaud that first try of theirs, you can’t defend something like that,” Fleck said.
On Pulu’s try, Rennie said: “I even got out of my chair, and that normally takes something special. It was phenomenal. We’ve talked a lot about our support play and second touches, and there’s a number of guys who touched the ball multiple times. We love seeing that, that’s the way we train. It’s great to put it out on the park.”
The Stormers now move onto their next big challenge, against the Lions. And given the fact the Johannesburg-based team play the same kind of rugby as the New Zealanders, Fleck said that his team should enjoy their victory over the Chiefs, but added that they can’t remain on cloud nine for too long as they now have to shift their focus to Johan Ackermann’s team.
“The Lions present exactly the same dangers as those that the Chiefs pose. They were Super Rugby finalists and they played outstanding rugby and they’re playing outstanding rugby again this year. So it’s back to square one on Monday.”
“We need to enjoy tonight, we have to, we haven’t beaten a New Zealand side in some time. But we’ve got to put good plans in place because the Lions, when they’re on their game, are one of the best sides in the competition,” Fleck said on Saturday.
The Stormers also looked better conditioned than they did last year, and Fleck added that the ability to still play your game even when fatigued is something that not only the Stormers, but the whole of South African rugby will have to master.
“I do think that South Africans are fit, but we just have to learn to play when we’re extremely tired and to stay in the game.
“And that’s where they (New Zealanders) take it to a new level. They still attack and play when they’re tired and they get through those little half gaps.”
“If we want to do well in this competition we’re going to have to play like this every week.”