Can the Stormers hold their own in Super Rugby?

IN SPORT, one result – especially at the start of a competition – isn’t everything.

But the 40-3 hammering the Bulls gave the Stormers in their Super Rugby opener is a huge warning sign for the Cape side nevertheless.

While the Bulls deserve credit for all the things they got right at the weekend, the Stormers have some immediate soul-searching to do.

After losing all their away games last season and winning only 38% of their matches, coach Robbie Fleck underlined the importance of winning away from home in 2019.

And after they beat the Bulls in their Marvel-themed, pre-season game at Cape Town Stadium a couple of weeks ago, the prospect of getting their campaign off to a good start against their rivals looked promising.

With everything going on behind the scenes in Cape Town, the Stormers, or at least the men in charge, would have been desperate for a positive result to prove the boardroom issues haven’t filtered into on-field business.

But was that ever going to be possible?

The situation at WP Rugby has been a major, well-documented issue recently, and there can be no doubt that it’s influenced the team on at least some level.

Yes, it’s still early days. Yes, things can still change – maybe even this weekend against the Lions, in the next big derby at Newlands.

But in order for that to happen, a massive step-up is required on Saturday, and the same will apply against the Sharks in Durban and the Jaguares in Cape Town.

If things don’t go better from here on, the Stormers’ tour to Australasia could very well be the start of another horror away run and, ultimately, another sub-par season.

Fleck has previously said he needs three years to turn the Stormers into genuine title contenders.

But now, in his fourth year as coach, are they any closer than they were in 2016?

As we said, it’s still early in the competition, this was only Round One.

But if anything is going to be different in 2019, that change is going to have to be apparent as early as Saturday.

The Lions, fresh from a great win over the Jaguares, will show no mercy.