Stormers must be ‘as clean as possible’ at breakdowns against Zebre
ZEBRE may have been bottom dwellers last season with just a lone win in 18 games, but that doesn’t mean the Stormers just need to rock up for a bonus-point victory in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash in Parma (4pm kickoff).
The Italian outfit may have lost all three games so far this season, but nearly toppled Irish giants Leinster at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, where they lost 33-29.
Then they almost got the better of the Sharks, with the Durbanites holding on desperately in the second half for a 42-37 triumph.
Zebre were competitive against Munster in Cork, where they conceded 21 points in 25 minutes of the first half, but added five themselves in the second to go down 21-5.
“They are a decent team and have a new attack coach, Dave Williams, who used to be at the Sharks and went to Bath.
“So, it’s a South African guy coaching their attack. They did really well against Leinster ... came close to the Sharks, and could’ve taken the Sharks. So, new players as well, so they are a good, well-coached team,” Stormers defence coach Norman Laker said yesterday.
“They are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment. They have added a few guys, like Richard Kriel (former Bulls fullback), the new flyhalf from Bristol (Tiff Eden) who can control the game really well – either with his kicking boot or how he passes the ball and puts guys into holes.
“They have also found a way to play rugby that suits them. And Dave Williams has helped them a lot in terms of ball-in-hand. It will be a tough game on Saturday, but it’s about focusing on us and fixing our errors from last weekend.”
The Stormers are unbeaten after two rounds, having seen off Connacht 38-15 and Edinburgh 34-18, although they were not at their best in either encounter.
Their biggest challenge will most likely come at the breakdown, where Zebre will look to disrupt them with former Lions openside flank MJ Pelser to stop the Cape side from building phases with ball-in-hand.
John Dobson’s team are also missing Springboks Joseph Dweba, Deon Fourie, Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe – who are all being rested – while new fullback Clayton Blommetjies is getting married this weekend and is not in Italy either.
But the Stormers beat Zebre 55-7 in Stellenbosch last season, and will hope that the likes of Damian Willemse, Herschel Jantjies, Salmaan Moerat, Marvin Orie, Hacjivah Dayimani and Evan Roos will lead the way in Parma.*