Chiefs prepared for Stormers backlash
It was quite the sight last year – the Stormers, having not played a Kiwi team all season, earning a home Super Rugby quarterfinal at nostalgic Newlands, and getting a sharp reminder of what they’d missed out on, as New Zealand’s third-placed Chiefs embarrassed them to the tune of 60-21.
Roll on to 2017, and round seven of this year’s competition, and the Stormers are sure to be on edge as they approach their first meeting with Kiwi foe tomorrow morning (NZT), with the Chiefs in town for a clash of two of the competition’s unbeaten sides.
The visitors are rolling into this one well aware that their Cape Town counterparts will still be, as assistant coach Neil Barnes put it, ‘‘pissy’’ with what went down last season.
‘‘We might have caught them on the hop last year, but they’re not going to be caught like that twice,’’ Barnes noted, saying what the Chiefs could take from that quarterfinal was ‘‘absolutely nothing, to be honest’’. ‘‘It’s history. ‘‘So we’ll need to be at our best to get the right result.’’
This, clearly, will give an indication of where the Stormers are at, so far sitting with a hefty 13-point advantage at the top of the Africa 2 ladder (with the next-best Cheetahs having even played an extra game), after wins over the Bulls, Jaguares, Kings, Sunwolves and Cheetahs.
Against the lowly Sunwolves in Singapore a fortnight back it took two late tries for them to prevail 44-31, while last weekend they were back home and ran in eight tries to thump the Cheetahs 53-10.
The Stormers have been operating with a heavily-depleted midfield, with international trio Damian de Allende, Juan de Jongh and Huw Jones all sidelined with injury, though it’s not a place the Chiefs are eyeing up to dominate – themselves having their depth tested in that area.
‘‘You’ve still got to respect the boys they’ve got in behind [them], and they’ve been playing quite well, not too many teams have opened them up there,’’ Barnes said.
‘‘So we’ve got our own plan as to how we’re going to attack these guys, but we’re not necessarily Stormers: SP Marais, Cheslin Kolbe, EW Viljoen, Dan du Plessis, Dillyn Leyds, Robert du Preez, Dewaldt Duvenage, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Siya Kolisi (c), Cobus Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Even Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Bongi Mbonami, JC Janse van Rensburg. Reserves: Ramone Samuels, Oli Kebble, Frans Malherbe, Jan de Klerk, Nizaam Carr, Justin Phillips, Kurt Coleman, Dan Kriel. Chiefs: Damian McKenzie, Toni Pulu, Anton Lienert-Brown, Stephen Donald, James Lowe, Aaron Cruden (c), Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Michael Leitch, Lachlan Boshier, Liam Messam, Brodie Retallick, Dominic Bird, Atu Moli, Hika Elliot, Kane Hames. Reserves: Brayden Mitchell, Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, Sefo Kautai, Taleni Seu, Mitchell Brown, Finlay Christie, Sam McNicol, Shaun Stevenson. Referee: Jaco Peyper picking on their midfielders at the moment.’’
What could be in store on a dry evening in the Cape is plenty of points each way, with the Stormers having scored at least four tries in each of their matches this year. Fullback SP Marais has been a key to that, with the former Kings, Sharks and last year Bulls, player, having made the most metres (514) in the competition and having provided the most offloads (15).
‘‘They’ve definitely upped the ante in their offloading and keeping the ball alive,’’ Barnes said. ‘‘Their game’s probably as expansive as you’ll see in South Africa, and it’s a good brand of rugby, so defensively we’re going to have to do a lot of work to make sure that they can’t get their offloads away, and that our line speed’s good and keep a bit of pressure on.’’
Despite the scrappy nature of their past couple of wins – 27-14 over the Rebels and 28-12 over the Bulls in Hamilton last weekend, the Chiefs have at least still managed to hold mostly strong without the ball, having conceded a competition-low six tries – with five of those coming in the final quarter of games.
It is their starts which the Chiefs – who are second in the hotly-contested NZ conference to the Crusaders, who have played an extra game – have been intent on rectifying. Some of that defence, well out from their goal-line, was lousy early on against the Bulls, with a heap of handling errors also letting them down. Barnes said it was about individuals getting roles right, eroding ill-discipline and being more accurate in general.
Despite Shaun Stevenson’s heroics in breaking that Bulls game open with a brilliant individual try, he has been somewhat surprisingly relegated to the bench, with Toni Pulu reinstated on the right wing after overcoming the hamstring injury he suffered against the Rebels.
‘‘Shaun certainly stepped up last week, as we all know he can fly when he goes, he’s got great feet,’’ Barnes said. ‘‘He’s still got areas of his game where he knows he needs to improve if he wants to be in the starting position.’’
With prop Nepo Laulala missing the overseas trek due to concussion, hulking Waikato prop Sefo Kautai is set for a debut off the bench, with the 20-year-old the biggest in the squad at 133kg.