Fleck’s feisty men v SA’s best

Stormers seek 80-minute performance to hunt down a pride of Lions

LAST week was a good one for the Stormers, a very good one indeed. But Stormers coach Robbie Fleck knows that their fixture against the Lions is in no way a step down from the one against the Chiefs last week.

The Stormers were brilliant against the Kiwis at Newlands. They played at a sky-high tempo, their attacking game was on point and everything (or most) just seemed to stick. And their defence, especially their scramble defence, was also tops.

But today it’s the Lions, and, while Fleck emphasised the opposition’s attacking potency, he also added that he was confident in his team’s much-improved conditioning and their ability to put on an 80-minute performance.

“It’s the same thing we’re facing with the Lions. I think they scored the most tries in the competition last year and they were the best attacking side. They also made the most linebreaks. So they’re going to ask lots of questions of us defensively and in those last 10 or 20 minutes they’ll come at us. I’m comfortable with where we are in terms of our conditioning and intensity. We have to take that forward from last week,” Fleck said.

A massive goal for Fleck & Co is to keep improving their game, and the Stormers chief praised the Lions for doing just that consistently last year.

“If we want to beat the Lions we have to play at the tempo we did last week, if not more. The Lions were able to do that week in and week out against Kiwi opposition last year,” he said.

“We’ve got to put in back-toback performances.”

In the build-up to the massive South African derby, Johan Ackermann’s side seemed keen on calling themselves the underdogs.

“The fact we’re playing at home and the form we’ve shown does give us some confidence,” Fleck said.

Fleck, who is set on perfecting his team’s attacking approach, praised the Lions coaching staff, who had done great things for not only Lions rugby, but also SA rugby.

“I’m proud of what they’ve done to Lions rugby in terms of the coaching staff and in terms of the players, and what they’ve done for South African rugby,” Fleck said.

Speaking of the Lions players, there’s sure to be a few monstrous match-ups in Cape Town today.

While Dillyn Leyds has been the social media king thanks to that impressive, try-creating offload to SP Marais against the Chiefs, the utility back, who’s found himself on the wing in recent weeks, is far from the only (attacking) danger man the hosts boast.

There’s Marais at fullback, who has been scintillating for the Stormers until now, while Fleck can also puff out his chest in pride when it comes to his centre pairing of Dan du Plessis and EW Viljoen.

And then, of course, there’s halfbacks Robert du Preez and Jano Vermaak who will look to build on their fine play.

Upfront, the Stormers lineout ammunition is also back to full strength with Springbok locks Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit back in the starting XV. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Siya Kolisi and Nizaam Carr will run on together for the first time this season. They are a hugely exciting loose trio and their selection is another positive statement in terms of transforming the game.

The Lions backline is also looking strong yet again, and the focus will surely be on flyhalf Elton Jantjies, the centre pairing of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Lionel Mapoe, and the exciting youngster Madosh Tambwe and Courtnall Skosan out wide.

Fullback Andries Coetzee, who’s top form earned him a call-up to the second Springbok training camp, will also be a big threat.

Fleck added: “It’s a derby against arguably the best team in South Africa. It’s going to be an exciting game of rugby.”