Seven ways Fleck’s Stormers can become the Big Chiefs of Newlands

WILL THE Stormers be able to emulate the stunning performance they produced in their 34-26 triumph over the Chiefs last season when they host them on Saturday? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But one thing’s for sure, a victory like that will mean even more for the Stormers this time around than it would have last year. Robbie Fleck has said that they will continue to fight for a Super Rugby quarter-final spot after a tough season – a season that’s been particularly hard whenever they’ve played away – and there’s no doubt that a win this weekend will help both their confidence as well as their log position. Here are seven ways the Stormers can get one step closer to one of the top-eight spots on the Super Rugby log. 1. Outscore them in tries You’re never going to beat the Kiwis by going for posts the whole time, and in the build-up to last year’s fixture, Fleck,

made it clear that he knows that all too well. The Stormers coach said that they’d go into the match to win it by tries, and that they did. The home team scored four to the Chiefs’ three, and what made the feat even more impressive was the fact that the Chiefs had only leaked six tries in their previous five encounters before they travelled to Cape Town. Aiming to beat any New Zealand team through penalties is probably not going to get you very far, and just like building scoreboard pressure through five points rather than three was the objective in that round-robin spectacle, it should again be the case this time around. 2. Attack, and don’t back down The way the Stormers fought fire with fire against then-coach Dave Rennie’s team was impressive, and it worked. It seemed like the perfect end-product of Fleck’s expansive goal, and while they obviously have to assess the on-field situations, the Stormers shouldn’t deviate from that goal and become more conservative, regardless of how much pressure there is going into this game and how that pressure builds when the whistle signals kickoff. After all, they’ve shown how they can play. So just play.

Remember those stunning passes and offloads, running lines and interplay that rivalled the Chiefs’ pop passes, basketball-like throws and out-of-nowhere offloads as well as their running game? Well, there you have it. It can be done. 3. Watch that space behind you The Chiefs know how to use attacking kicks to get in behind their opposition’s defence, and they don’t need to be briefed on how to exploit that space once they get there. There was quite a bit of that in the form of grubbers and chip kicks the last time they met, especially early on, and it’s again going to be something to look out for. And what a treat would it be if one or two of the Stormers’ very-capable backs can scoop that up and serve one of the bosses of counter-attack some of their own medicine? 4. More of that Bulls defence To erase any confusion, the Stormers need to execute more of that solid defence they kept the Bulls in check with at the weekend, not replicate the Bulls’ defence. They did well to keep a tryline hungry Bulls side out of their in-goal area with impressive defence in front of 30 000plus fans at Newlands, and aiming to copy and paste the defensive work they produced against the Chiefs when they beat them 34-26 wouldn’t be a bad idea either. In that game, the Stormers’ defence was nothing short of fantastic as they succeeded in keeping out a side that was desperate for a losing bonus point and were relentless in their pursuit thereof in the last minutes of the game. 5. Continue the physical dominance Whether it’s at the breakdowns, scrums or collisions, the Stormers’ display against the Bulls should boost their confidence going into those departments against the Chiefs. Their work in all of those areas was packed with intent, and it should be no less on Saturday.

Whether it’s dealing with the Chiefs’ line speed, using their target of cracking into the top-eight spots as fuel or motivation rather than error-ridden desperation, or just staying focused in general no matter what happens in the game, the Stormers can’t lose focus and composure this weekend. The Chiefs won’t need a personalised invitation to pounce on that.

Besides, the Stormers managed to keep their cool last year, despite the score changing four times in the first half. 7. Go the full 80 Just like the Stormers performed for 80 minutes against the Bulls, they need to do the same if they want to be the Big Chiefs of Newlands.