Training reforms for Stormers
KNOWING that this year’s Super Rugby schedule pits the Stormers against strong New Zealand opposition‚ coach Robbie Fleck is placing an emphasis on skills development and better fitness.
The Stormers started their preseason late last year, with Fleck challenging his players to be more professional in their approach to training.
Lack of conditioning has been a problem for South African teams on all levels, in comparison with their Kiwi counterparts‚ and part of the reason is the way the New Zealand players approach training.
They are prepared to put in extra hours outside of formal practice times and the Stormers are looking to instil some of that behaviour in their own squad this season.
After returning from their festive season break‚ the Stormers went to Hermanus for a camp last week. Former Blues skills coach Paul Feehy has started working with them.
“In November, we set ourselves some new challenges and goals‚” Fleck said after the camp.
“We needed to make a few changes in our set-up and the way we approach things.
“Skills were a major focus for us‚ hence Paul Feeney’s joining us.
“He has had many sessions‚ where he upskilled the players – not only in catching and passing‚ but more so vision and decisionmaking – and communication.”
South African players in general appear to be falling further behind their Kiwi counterparts in several areas – and the Stormers are determined to close that gap this year.
Last year, the Cape Town franchise only played against South African‚ Australian‚ Argentinean and Japanese teams in the pool phase.
They easily qualified for the playoffs‚ but the first time they met a New Zealand side – the Chiefs – in the last eight‚ they were thrashed 60-21 at Newlands.
It was a stark lesson and it highlighted the gulf in class that exists.
This year they will face all five New Zealand franchises in the pool phase of Super Rugby.
“Everything is in line to becoming a better Stormers team‚ we want to help the players become more natural in their skills and conditioning‚ that it is not hard work but that everything becomes second nature‚” Fleck said.
“We feel that there are parts of our fitness that we can improve on.
“I don’t think it is a case of being running fit‚ it is about being a little bit more accurate in certain aspects of our fitness.
“Another major point of focus for us was our combat. We needed to physically prepare players for oneon-one situations and getting that hard edge back into our game.
“South African players are big and strong, but need to be able to use their physicality a bit smarter and be more comfortable in those dark spaces,” he said.
“From the players’ perspective, we had to make some major changes‚ not just in the way we see the game‚ but the way we see ourselves and our professional approach.
“We had a good off-season period where we worked hard for six weeks and enforced some changes.”
We needed to make a few changes in our set-up and the way we approach things