Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
The Stormers didn’t seem to know what to do with the ball
Injury concern around flyhalf Du Preez after third straight defeat on tour
SO, the Stormers will return to South Africa with not a single log point to show, but in their 41-22 defeat to the Hurricanes, they certainly looked a better side than they did against the Crusaders and the Highlanders
Yes, they looked better, but the fact of the matter is they have absolutely nothing to show for it, and even in this “improved” performance they still made errors they just shouldn’t be making.
For me, the biggest problem was that the Stormers didn’t know what to do with the ball, and that was evident in how the Hurricanes turned possession over. In fact the Stormers lost it for themselves, and they never really looked like scoring off anything except that driving maul, and too many times we saw them just die with the ball or seem to be uncertain what to do with it.
As in the previous two weeks, the Stormers started strong, but a big difference was that this time they didn’t fade as the match progressed, they actually got better, but their failure to use their chances saw them coming second in a game they had no reason to lose. After all, the score was 22-22 at one stage, and the defending Super Rugby champions went through a slump in the second 40 that the Stormers should have capitalised on.
In the first half I was impressed by the Stormers’ breakdown work. They weren’t the same, passive side when it came to the contest on the ground, but just like last week, their defence was a concern.
They turned that around in the second half, and here we saw the Stormers’ defen- sive line put great pressure on the Hurricanes, who made quite a few handling errors. This was great to see, because usually it’s the Hurricanes who force teams into losing composure with their line speed and aggressive defence. That’s something the Canes would have capitalised on, but the Stormers didn’t.
Robbie Fleck’s team didn’t do much with their possession in opposition 22, in fact, the two real chances they had to score turned out horribly. First, scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage lost the ball right in front of the posts. The hosts, of course, reacted quickly and this resulted in a length-of-thefield try by inside centre Ngani Laumape. Then replacement loose forward Sikhumbuzo Notshe lost the ball painfully close to the try line.
And maybe they should think of using width when they get into the opposition’s red zone instead of using oneoff runners? It’s predictable and it doesn’t work against these teams. It was proven last week and was proven this week again.
The Stormers also kicked aimlessly too many times, in fact you can say the only aim they showed was kicking straight into the Hurricanes’ hands, while their kicks to touch weren’t the best we’ve seen either.
Wing Dillyn Leyds’ chargeddown kick in midfield (where was his awareness and vision?) led to a try by the hosts, and Duvenage’s terrible box kicks didn’t help ether.
And also, WHY kick for goal against a team like this? Because it’s the only almost-certain points? Fleck has said it himself – you can’t beat the Kiwis with penalties, you have to score more tries than them, yet the Stormers went for posts almost every chance they got. And yes, it narrowed the ‘Canes’ lead and got them into the game, but you have to outscore them. That’s the point.
All of these things boil down to one thing – how you use the ball. And that’s a key area the Stormers need to fix if they want to relive the joys of the first six rounds.
There were of course other areas that were problematic as well. Their defence, for example, looked good, but there were still players slipping tackles and being caught out of position. This was particularly noticeable in the back three’s poor positional play – and Beauden Barrett exposed them with those cross kicks.
Then there were the lineouts. I don’t know if the Stormers lost the pole they use to practice their throws on, but I hope they find it ASAP. Mbonambi’s lineout troubles have surfaced a number of times this season, and the same thing happened in Wellington when he failed to find his jumpers two or three times, and it ended horribly when one of those misdirected throws resulted in a try by the ‘Canes.
And, if three straight defeats are not bad enough, flyhalf Robert du Preez, who has been one of the better players on tour, left the field with a painful-looking shoulder injury. The Stormers will be hoping Jean-Luc du Plessis will be fit again soon.
Summing up then, the Stormers obviously were with- out some big names, and their confidence will have taken a knock on tour. But they still comfortably top their group. The season is far from over .... THE Highlanders scored three converted tries in the last five minutes to snatch a thrilling and almost unbelievable win from the Cheetahs in a Super Rugby match played in Bloemfontein last night.
With five minutes remaining the home team led 41-24 and looked to be well on their way to registering just their third win of the competition.
They has played some brilliant rugby with several players, like Ox Nche, Tian Meyer, Raymond Rhule and William Small-Smith turning in excellent performances.
Having changed sides 15-10 up and seemingly in control of the match, and with the Highlanders having lost two men to the sin-bin for ill-discipline, Franco Smith’s men were coasting to victory.
But the Highlanders, champions two years ago, had other ideas.
They scored converted tries by Tevita Li, Matt Faddes and a second by Waisake Naholo in the final five minutes to steal the win.
It left the Cheetahs players shattered on the field after they had produced arguably their best performance of the competition.
With the Cheetahs leading 44-28 with the clock ticking down, Uzair Cassiem was yellow carded in the 73rd minute and then the Highlanders struck.
When the dust had settled, they’d scored three excellent tries.
For the Cheetahs it’s back to the proverbial drawing board as they seek to find the answer of playing for the full 80 minutes.