Coetzee praises team’s heart

Rudolph Jacobs

The Stormers wore jerseys with their mom’s names on them at the weekend.

But, said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, it was the people inside those jerseys who steered them to a 25-24 Super Rugby win over the Brumbies at Newlands.

“What we asked for was for the players to play with their hearts,” said Coetzee.

“They wore jerseys with their mom’s names on it (on the collars). It’s not about the pink roses on the jerseys, but the person inside the jersey and the guys showed that in the second half in particular.”

The side showed character after Brumbies wing Joe Temane scored to put his side 16-3 up and the Stormers had to dig deep.

“I’m really proud of the team – the leadership, the management team; everyone,” said Coetzee.

“The Brumbies are the Australian Conference leaders, so it was an impressive second-half performance.”

The Stormers enjoy a bye this week before the last stage before the play-offs, including three straight matches at home – against the Rebels, Cheetahs and Lions – with only their last game away to the Sharks.

And even though the Brumbies game was too close for comfort, it will stand them in good stead on route to a possible play-off for the SA Conference leaders.“To come back from 16-3 down and win having had just one training session (because of the Springbok training camp) shows a lot about the character of this team,” Coetzee said.

But matters are far from rosy, he conceded.

“We put ourselves under pressure again with simple mistakes, but there is a lot of character in this team and the leadership stood out once again.”