Stormers ‘tough to play’
STORMERS coach Robbie Fleck is confident that they can “beat most teams in this competition” if they manage to perform consistently.
The Stormers produced a top performance at Newlands against the Blues at the weekend, and they shined in the first half – with their line speed, ability to create and score stunning tries, and the intent and width they played with proving too much to handle for the Blues.
The Stormers’ all-out individual performances also made a big statement about the team given the fact that a large part of the group couldn’t train in the build-up to the game due to the flu.
The Blues didn’t make things easier for themselves by not looking after the ball, but in the second half the Stormers’ firing performance lost a bit of its spark, while the Blues had more possession and played a tidier game.
And after a tough and disappointing tour to Australasia, Fleck said that they’ve got to learn to win at home and away.
“I guess it comes down to consistency. Coming back from tour we were nearly there, the results don’t show it but we saw enough to give us confidence going into the home leg,” Fleck said.
“When we do get it right we’re a pretty tough team to play against. Our challenge is that we’ve got to learn to win away from home, especially in New Zealand. If we can play like we do at home, away, then we can beat most teams in this competition.
“I’m pretty stoked with the win. We were happy with that first-half performance and you could probably see that in the second half our work rate and our intensity dropped a little. And that was to be expected. It was a challenging week with 80 percent of the group being sick, but jeez, what character did the guys show. For us to deliver a performance like that after (out) tour makes me very happy,” he said.
The win was of course a much-needed boost for a Stormers team that suffered three defeats on tour against the Waratahs, Crusaders and Highlanders, and after the match, Fleck said that a replica of what they did against the Blues over the weekend when they host the Reds on Saturday could impact the remainder of their campaign in a big way.
“What was missing on tour was that width to our game. We found a bit more width, but it’s still a work on. The things that needed improving that we identified on tour certainly came through today, like the line speed and width,” he said.
“The little passes stuck and completing those phases and getting over the tryline was important this week. Our attention to detail on defence was excellent – I don’t think we gave them a lot of space to operate. We’re certainly not there yet, there’s still lots for us to do. But if we can put in back-to-back performances… I guess that’s the next challenge, to put in another performance like that next week, then who knows what can happen for the rest of the campaign.”
Blues coach Tana Umaga had a similar goal as the Stormers mentor, as he also wants consistency, and believes that the Stormers just had more “urgency and hunger” to get the win, while their inconsistency led to them playing with less intensity in Cape Town than what they did during their win over the Lions in Johannesburg last week.
“We probably didn’t bring the same intensity as last week at the start and obviously the Stormers did. They seemed like they had more urgency and hunger to get the result that they wanted,” Umaga said. LIONS COACH Swys de Bruin has opted to focus on the positives from their 40-38 win against the Sunwolves at the weekend, ahead of this week’s trip to Argentina to face the Jaguares.
The Lions delivered one of their most disjointed performances of the last three years in almost going down to the men from Japan at Ellis Park on Saturday, but two late tries by the home team ensured they got over the line unscathed. After going 31-26 behind with 20 minutes to play, the Lions scored converted tries through Malcolm Marx (his second in the game) and Rohan Janse van Rensburg to make it a fourth win in five outings this season.
“The guys showed massive character when they went behind. They came back at the end and played some great rugby to win it,” said a relieved De Bruin, whose team went down to the Blues the week before.
“It’s a tough competition, and I’d rather focus on the positives. We won 16 out of 16 lineouts, stole five, and also scrummed well. ”
De Bruin added some soft moments by his players – decision-making, more than anything else – put his team under unnecessary pressure and said they would have to jack up their defence if they are to be competitive this season.
“We’re not able to look after the ball at this stage; it’s something we really have to work on. Every game we’re scoring five, six tries ... that’s what we want, but the opposition is also scoring that many. We need to ensure they don’t score so many against us; it’s a worry at this stage. I think it’s a case of us lacking a bit of composure,” he said.
The Lions will leave for Buenos Aires on Wednesday knowing that they dodged a bullet in the Sunwolves, and will be determined to right the wrongs of the past two trips to Argentina. De Bruin will make some rotational switches to his team, but he is adamant that the Lions will be fully charged for the match this Saturday.