A round of redemption awaits the Stormers
WILL THE Stormers be able to make up for their sins of the past against the Lions? We’ll have to wait and see. But one thing’s for sure – if they want to give their rather slim chances of making the Super Rugby playoffs a lifeline, they have to get the win. There’s no room for ifs, and or buts. They simply have to.
But it won’t be an easy task following their 26-23 loss to the Sunwolves at the weekend – a game that the Stormers produced a lot of errors in.
And, of course, the fact that the Lions haven’t lost to a South African team in 20 games doesn’t bode well for the Stormers’ chances. But there can be no doubt that the hosts will be desperate to head into the international break on a good note. After all... they have nothing to lose but a playoff spot that isn’t very much within reach anymore. And earlier this week, Stormers back JJ Engelbrecht said that their situation won’t affect their confidence and that their motivation to make the most of their three remaining games (against the Lions, Jaguares and Sharks) cannot be questioned.
The Lions, on the other hand, will go into the fixture fresh off a win against the Brumbies, albeit not an extremely convincing one.
It will be a round of redemption for the Stormers, not only in terms of results, but also on-field performances.
Against the Sunwolves, one of the few positives for the Stormers was their scrummaging. And just like it was a kind of saving grace in those extreme conditions, it’s also been one of their more consistent positives throughout the year. And it should be more of the same this weekend.
It’s the one area the Stormers can be regarded the favourites in this weekend, while the other big set-piece test could go either way. The Lions have been solid from the lineout this season, and their driving maul has been a pleasing production.
The Stormers’ lineout performances have caused them all kinds of trouble in the recent past, but their work in that area has stabilised since early 2018. But as much as the Stormers have managed to keep it tidier at the lineout, keeping the Lions in check – especially right after the lineout, will still be crucial, because you can’t have a team like that getting any momentum on attack from the lineout launch. Also, what the Stormers do after the lineout will be another assignment.
They’ve looked good on attack from the set-piece at times, and they just need to make sure that they hold onto that advantage.
Speaking of crucial battles; as always, the breakdown will be another one.
The Stormers coaching staff have spoken quite a bit about their aspirations with regards to maximising their work on the ground as well as after it (especially at the beginning of the year). It’s perhaps one of those tests that the Stormers have passed but not in an absolutely dominant manner, and if they can get that right on Saturday afternoon, it will serve another platform to put pressure on their fellow South Africans in terms of attack.
Again, attack. It’s one aspect that promises to be interesting against a team who have made so many strides in that regard.
One of the Stormers’ downfalls this season has been the fact that they’ve succeed in stringing together promising – at times exhilarating – spells, only for a pass to go astray or a handling error to set in. And with the kind of attacking flair the Lions boast, it’s an oops the Stormers can’t afford to regret. We also saw it against the Sunwolves – the Stormers had their chances, but they failed to hold onto the ball, while the hosts showed a better appreciation for their possession.
But as much as the Stormers need to be careful of slip-ups on attack, they should also make it a mission to pounce on the Lions’ errors.
The Stormers backline can be potent on the counter attack, and someone like Dillyn Leyds has shown that.
And as crucial as spot-on attack is, the same should be said about defence.
The Stormers have aced their pressuring linespeed goals at times this season, but scramble defence and getting those first-time tackles right against any team, especially the Lions, will be one of the keys to avoiding another disappointment. THE JAGUARES have always been spoken of highly because their setup states that if you want to represent Argentina, you need to play your rugby in the country. So, the only path to national honours is really through the Jaguares, meaning that it is indeed a Test team.
Coach Robert du Preez is well aware of this fact too, noting that the team his side are preparing to play tomorrow night is essentially the Argentinian national team, and certainly the side in Super Rugby which has the most internationals in it.
This obviously speaks as to how tough the challenge will be, in front of such a patriotic rugby country, with their best stars involved, but even more so, the Jaguares have put their house in order. The potential and promise has always been there with the Jaguares, but now, they have finally turned that latent ability into tangible results. Wins away from home, a thrashing of the Bulls, and second spot in the South African Conference all speaks of the progress they have made.
“They are a very physical team, and they are well balanced,” Du Preez said. “We are playing against a Test team, I mean, that is the Argentina national team.
“They have got really good players in every position, and you have seen what they did to the Bulls. So, if you do not man up, or pitch on the day, it is going to be a long evening. We are well prepared, we believe we can beat them, I have no doubt we can beat them.”
The coach has every right to be confident after his team managed a good win over a determined, if not understrength Chiefs side last weekend. But more than feeling confident, there is a noted desperation coming from the Sharks camp as they know wins are pure gold as the season starts to wraps up.
“Winning is everything, it is everything to play for,” Du Preez said. “We’re desperate to win this game and that’s what we’re going to do. There’s no breathing space on the log, so we have to win every game.”
The Sharks know they have a few areas that need to be shored up, namely taking their opportunities. They were in total control against the Chiefs, yet they only came away with a four-point win. It could, and should have, been so much more but for some silly errors in try-scoring regions which the coach has spoken about before.
“There is just the one area we need to fix up and that is we have created a few opportunities, and missed them,” Du Preez said.
The Sharks are unchanged from that win against the Chiefs, with the entire matchday 23 getting another chance to impress.