Fleck not throwing in towel yet on Stormers’ limping Super campaign

STORMERS coach Robbie Fleck refuses to throw in the towel on his side’s playoff ambitions, despite losing their seventh match of the Super Rugby campaign when they went down 15-9 against the Chiefs at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

The home loss has left the Stormers in last position in the South African conference on 23 points after 12 games, but they are still only eight points behind the log-leading Lions.

The two sides meet in two weeks‚ which could have a massive bearing on playoff places.

But first the Stormers travel to Hong Kong to take on the Sunwolves on Saturday, where claiming a maximum five points is a top priority.

“We have four games left and we are still in it‚” Fleck said.

“It’s a funny competition this year – nobody is guaranteed anything, and you have to fight for each point. “It is going down to the wire. “For us, every game is a must-win and we have to approach it that way.

“We aren’t thinking about the Lions yet, because we must prepare to beat the Sunwolves.

“There is a lot of rugby to be played with New Zealand teams having to play each other‚ so a lot can still change.

“We will take our best team to Hong Kong, because every game is a quarterfinal and the mindset is trying to win every game.”

Fleck was tight-lipped when asked to comment on referee Mike Fraser’s performance‚ after he failed to spot regular blocking runs by Chiefs players – as well as awarding a penalty try late in the second half‚ which ultimately decided the contest.

The Stormers were penalised for illegal scrumming five metres from their line in the 66th minute‚ prompting Fraser to give a penalty try.

Fleck would not comment and rather asked that people draw their own conclusions.

Although nobody from the Stormers said it‚ there appeared to be some confusion as to how the Chiefs scrum could legally be so dominant.

“I will have to have a look at those scrums again‚” Fleck said.

“Certainly, the one that led to the penalty try was a good one from them. But the ones before were debatable.

“I don’t quite know where we lost it. We didn’t convert the few chances we had and we also worked hard to turn over possession at one stage‚ but gave it back to them.

“That led to the penalties and scrum that ended in the penalty try.

“I will say that both defences were good and this was certainly our best defensive performance.

“They had a lucky bounce for the first try [by Anton Leinert-Brown]‚ but you have to give them credit for their powerful scrum,” Fleck said.

“I have to recognise their defence. When we got in behind them, they got their line back quickly and were able to put us under pressure. It was a typical battle against the Chiefs.”

After the game, Chiefs coach Colin Cooper praised his team’s defence and scrum.

“We were well prepared for the Stormers‚” he said. – TimesLIVE