Stormers to make fuller use of scrums
BY ADDING a dominant scrum to their armoury the Stormers could land some deep psychological blows in the coming weeks of Super Rugby if the pack continues where it left off against the Bulls last weekend.
For years the Stormers have been renowned for their defence, but also for having a weak scrum. After beating the Bulls 29-17 at Loftus Versfeld, they have sent an early warning that the scrum could become an attacking platform.
“You can use the scrum as an attacking weapon depending on where you are on the field,” forwards and scrum coach Matt Proudfoot said. “Because of the strain that the maul is under in the modern game, there has been a move to teams going for more scrums.
“Some teams use it to search for penalties, others use a quick release from No 8 to the scrumhalf and on to a fullback entering the line off a good right shoulder. But it depends on the team’s philosophy to the scrum. We’ve got a great fullback (Cheslin Kolbe) who can run off the scrum, which gives us attacking options in the right areas of the field. To have a powerful scrum, is a huge psychological weapon.”
But Proudfoot was also quick to downplay expectation based on last week’s scrumming effort as the Stormers prepare to face the Auckland Blues at Newlands this weekend. “The scrum has been a work in progress and we have been working hard to develop them into something like we saw at the weekend,” Proudfoot said.
“Steven Kitshoff started when he was 19 and now he’s 23 and he’s growing into himself. He is becoming a seasoned pro, who is confident in his ability.
“It’s easy to keep them (the pack) grounded, though after the Bulls performance, because they are up against a 110-capped All Black (Keven Mealamu) and some seasoned veterans in the Blues team. We are just going to continue performing and working hard.
“The Bulls are a physical side and pose certain challenges. The New Zealand sides pose different challenges.
“The Blues scrum at a different height for instance. There are fine nuances in their game that come through all the franchises and from the All Blacks down.
“All Blacks scrum coach Mike Cron has been around a long time and he goes around to all their franchises. He is world class and they have a good scrum philosophy. So technically, we have to watch the height of the scrum and how our tighthead handles the right shoulder.”