Key to Stormers success: Scoring first and not letting go for 80

We are halfway through the season, and the Stormers and coach Robbie Fleck

are struggling to say afloat in the turbulent waters of Super Rugby. They are currently fourth in the SA conference, with just three wins out of eight, including five straight defeats away from home. Why is that? There is no simple answer to that question, but the Stormers need to get back on the winning track, starting in Durban against the Sharks. Here are my six suggestions for turning the season around.

I’ve never been very keen on elaborating on the importance of winning the forward battle or the notion that a game is won up front, mainly because I’m still trying to figure out if there’s such a thing as an unimportant aspect in rugby, or if it’s just an overused principle by rugby traditionalists trying to comfort their beloved single-digit warriors for all those times the backs have just “finished off ” all their hard work (and gained the glory) by diving over the try line in flamboyant fashion. Either way, and seriously, it will be important this week. The forwards will need to lay a platform. Also, the Faithful probably need something to erase the images of the Bulls forwards rampaging over the Stormers’ at Loftus.

2 Get the set-piece right

If there is one of the Stormers’ possessions that can never be doubted, it’s the cards they have that form their setpiece deck. While the loss of the likes of Eben Etzebeth, JD Schickerling and Bongi Mbonambi to injury has impacted the Cape side, the calibre of players they have up front is superb. Their scrum hasn’t really been an issue this season...in fact they’ve dominated most of their shoving battles in the ever-changing competition. Their lineout has gone from near disastrous to a more functional unit, and while a fine performance at the set-piece is always key, it will crucial against the Sharks...and the same can be said about what they do after securing the ball at the lineout or scrum.

We’ve seen it quite a few times...they hold onto the ball, they gain metres and get all the way into the attack zone, only for a the ball to go loose or bounce into touch before it can reach the final pair of eagerly-awaiting hands. Or it happens anywhere else on the field after an impressive piece of attack has been strung together. It’s a forced pass here or an overdone offload there. Or the receiver just doesn’t get a grip on the Gilbert. Point is, we’ve sometimes seen really good things when the Stormers have had ball in hand, even when the results didn’t exactly suggest it, but we’ve also seen butchered chances and not enough rhythm on attack.

I mentioned rhythm on attack earlier, but some variation and inventiveness will also add another dimension. The Stormers backline needs no introduction, and it’s one that oozes speed, guile and flair. And the forwards certainly don’t lack in the skills department either. But we need to see all those resources put to use in an unpredictable way. Playing with width has been one of the boxes the Stormers have been wanting to tick, and while have seen some of it, a bit more wouldn’t hurt. More variation in attacks launched from set-piece. Attacking from different field positions. Fewer oneoff runners when the going gets tough. Just keep the Sharks guessing. Playing catch-up is never easy. And being way ahead only to take your foot off the pedal for whatever reason later in the game and become the one under pressure isn’t pleasant either...or certainly not to watch. Against the Jaguares in their Super Rugby-opener the Stormers were well in command, only for the game to turn into a last-quarter huslte and come down to a monster scrum to secure the win and prevent an upset against the ill-disciplined Argentines. On tour not even a laudable second-half fightback could do enough to stop the Crusaders after they wreaked havoc in the opening 20. Against the Reds, a good first half lost some of its glam due to a not-so-amazing second stanza. And that first half against the Lions also proved too much, although things looked slightly better in the second. Starting well and fading and starting poorly and chasing are both undesirable. But getting the first points and maintaining the pressure will be one of the most fitting keys to success this weekend.

Linespeed: an ever-growing topic of discussion in rugby circles, and one that can do wonders if it’s done right. Also one of the Kiwis’ much-feared weapons.

Yeah, it might have been a system mostly associated with New Zealand sides, but the Stormers have shown that they can get it right. And while it would be great to see, their defence - however quick or pressuring it may or may not be on Saturday - just needs to keep the Sharks’ try-tap sealed. “UNIQUE” Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan will have a major impact on this year’s Indian Premier League for the Hyderabad franchise, coach Tom Moody has predicted.

Rashid has made rapid strides since making his international debut in October 2015 as a 17-year-old, in February becoming the youngest to top the International Cricket Council’s rankings for bowlers in the Twenty20 and 50-overs format.

Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged 40 million rupees ($609,524) at last year’s auction to land the unheralded leg-spinner from Afghanistan, where cricket is highly popular but sporting facilities are pitifully inadequate after decades of war.

He saw an intense bidding war in this year’s auction before Hyderabad retained him with their right-to-match option for a whopping 90 million rupees ($1.37 million), more than double what they paid for his services a year earlier.

“Rashid is a pretty unique cricketer and he’s had a lot of success with us last year,” Moody, 52, told Reuters.

“He’s gone from strength to strength in the various tournaments that he has played around the world and also when he’s representing his country.”

It was only in 2013 that Afghanistan, mostly made up of players who picked up the game in refugee camps in neighbouring Pakistan, became an Associate Member.

They are currently a Full Member, scheduled to play their maiden test match against India in June, and also won the qualifying tournament for the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales next year.

Rashid has played a major role in Afghanistan’s ascent, and last month become the fastest to take 100 wickets in ODIs, bettering the mark of Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc by eight matches.

He is a proven strike bowler and has made a name for himself in Twenty20 leagues around the world, proving his worth in the IPL and Australia’s Big Bash League.

“He’s an important piece to our puzzle given that there’s an element of mystery around him and he has that real potency as a wicket-taker. So he’s important,”

Moody, who played eight tests and 76 ODIs for Australia, said in a telephone interview.

Hyderabad lead the IPL standings with three wins from as many matches. – Reuters