Coach pleased despite defeat
ACKERMANN: NO GAME PLAN, JUST MINUTES ON PITCH
Stormers blow as Leolin Zas breaks his leg at Newlands.
The Lions did not concern themselves with a game plan prior to their Super Rugby warm-up clash against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday, coach Johan Ackermann admitted after the game.
The Stormers won the 15-try thriller 57-40 after the scores were level at 21-21 at half-time, and Ackermann said they had identified crucial areas on which to focus ahead of the new season.
“We didn’t go into the match with a specific game plan. It was more about giving the guys some proper game time,” he said.
“The guys got a bit of contact, which we wanted, but we have seen certain things which we have to work on, like our work at the breakdown and our defence.”
The Stormers suffered two injury blows to wing Leolin Zas (broken leg) and centre Juan de Jongh (knee), and Ackermann was relieved not to pick up any more serious niggles in the squad.
“We are just relieved we got through the game without any major injuries,” he said.
“There were many positives, so once we put all of that into place we will hopefully see the results.”
While it was a first run for various players including flyhalf Elton Jantjies and flank Jaco Kriel, Ackermann felt the Stormers deserved credit.
“They have improved quite a bit. They play a good brand and you can definitely see the hand of a New Zealander (Stormers skills coach Paul Feeney) in there, and it showed us once again this year we have to start from scratch.
“It was in any case one of our goals to start the whole process over at week one. You can’t look too far ahead.”
Ackermann believed it was evident that all local teams had put in hard work during the off-season, but he was equally satisfied with the shape of his own side.
“I’m thankful certain things are in place. Other things need some work and tweaking, but we can definitely look at our scrums again,” he said.
“But while the lineouts were good, there are a few other facets we need to focus on, and the game gave us enough stuff which we can still give attention to.”