Breakdown battleground key, says Stormers’ Kolisi

CAPE TOWN: Although Stormers captain Siya Kolisi says the Stormers’ Super Rugby clash against the Chiefs is “the closest some of the guys will get to a Test match”, he believes his team are confident of their chances against the Kiwis despite the pressure. And there is a lot of pressure. The Stormers are set on righting all the wrongs in their play against the Chiefs in the Super Rugby quarter-final at Newlands last year, and with good reason.

If the Newlands faithful thought their vision of the onslaught was perhaps blurred by their tears last year, the scoreboard confirmed the extent of that thrashing their beloved Stormers suffered (60-21, of course). But I don’t see that happening this time, and neither does Kolisi.

At the Stormers team announcement at Newlands on Thursday, Kolisi also made the team’s intention of scoring tries clear, and added that he knows you can’t beat the Chiefs with penalties.

“We want to score tries, and not just get three points the whole time. So we’re going to find a way to make it work so that we get those tries,” Kolisi said.

“We’re feeling really good. We’ve prepared well, that’s the thing. We’re confident. We don’t try and put extra stress on the guys. This is the closest some of the guys will get to a Test match, which is good. The guys are excited about it.”

Kolisi is focused on the task at hand, and said that his team won’t be paying much mind to any niggly play by the opposition either. And again, he explained how well-prepared his side are.

“We just have to focus on what we have to do and we have to manage the situation. The ref can’t always see everything. We’ve seen the clips, we’ve seen what they do. So we’ve pre- pared and we know what’s coming,” he said.

The Stormers produced promising performances since the start of the 2017 season, but Kolisi is well aware of the fact that the real “test” of how far they’ve come will be today.

“This is going to be the big test. I think we’ve worked very hard, especially from where we were the last time we played them. It’s going to be a good challenge to see how much we’ve improved when we play them,” the skipper said.

“We can obviously see the improvements with all the games we’ve played, but this is going to be a good challenge.”

There are a number of tests that will be particularly interesting to see – how the Stormers’ attacking game holds up to that of the Chiefs, if their offloads stick, and the line-outs and the scrum battle.

Then there’s also the battle of the backlines, with the Chiefs boasting a stunning backline pumping with pace and skill, while the Storm- ers’ are not lacking in that department either.

But it was the breakdown contest Kolisi figures is going to be a real competition, even with the Chiefs missing a crucial breakdown option in Sam Cane due to injury.

“It’s going to be a good test for us as loosies, we’re going to stand up and we’ve just gotta outwork them. They do their work relentlessly. They work all the time. That’s what they do best.

“So Ithat’s what it’s going to come to, who gets to the breakdown first. And they’re going to be ruthless when they get there.”

In the build-up to the clash, Stormers coach Robbie Fleck said the Stormers’ performance against the Kings will not only matter for Stormers rugby, but also for South African rugby. And if the men from Cape Town manage to make up for the disappointment of last year, imagine the amazing attacking path Fleck’s team would then tempt the rest of South Africa to follow.