Mistakes cost Stormers a win
SKIPPER KOLISI: ESSENTIALLY WE LOST TO OURSELVES
Departure of stars for overseas adds to the disappointment.
The Stormers lost not to their opponents but to themselves, according to captain Siya Kolisi, going down 17-11 to the Chiefs in their Super Rugby quarterfinal at Newlands over the weekend.
It was the Stormers’ third straight defeat at home in the play-offs and their eighth loss in nine play-off matches, but Kolisi believed there were just inches in the game.
“Although we lost, we can take a lot of positives, and essentially we lost to ourselves,” he said.
“Every time we had the opportunity to score we knocked on and put the pressure straight back on ourselves.”
The Stormers scored their only try by Kolisi shortly after halftime to trail 9-8, and the Chiefs’ only try by wing Shaun Stephenson in the last 10 minutes (with the Stormers trailing by just 12-11) effectively sealed the match.
“The result didn’t go our way but it was very different to the previous game,” Kolisi said.
“We wanted to slow the game down to our pace so that they couldn’t play the game they wanted to play.”
Kolisi felt there was a lot of competition, especially at the breakdown, but he insisted their physicality was right up there.
“We managed to get quick off the line but then they had the opportunity to counter out wide,” he said.
“There were small individual errors but it’s something we can fix. It’s tough right now because all the guys are emotional.”
A number of Stormers stars, including wing Cheslin Kolbe, centre Juan de Jongh and prop Oli Kebble, are set to leave Cape Town’s shores to take up offers with overseas clubs.
“It’s tough for the guys who are leaving as they are departing with a loss,” Kolisi said.
“It’s a great loss to lose players every year but we can’t compete with foreign clubs. That’s why we try to create the possible culture here and make it possible for more players to stay in South Africa to play their rugby.”