Hammering the home blues
31 Mar 2008
The Stormers need to win at home to be serious title contenders.
For the players it will be a week of relaxation. For the coaches it will be one of reflection.
The Stormers, outstanding in their four Australasian matches, have to show similar form at Newlands. Historically it is easier said than done because the team with the best support base in the history of the tournament tends to be shackled by expectation and troubled by the adulation of a public and media that demands they win more at home than they lose.
What should be a fortress has for too long been a charitable venue for visitors.
A mate of mine said the quicker the Stormers move their home base from Newlands to the World Cup stadium in Green Point the better. His view is that there is bad Super rugby karma at the ground and that a new stadium will finally bring reward.
He added that ever since the Stormers threatened a player strike on the morning of their 1999 Super rugby semi-final against the Highlanders the gods of good fortune turned on them and continue to spook them every season.
Winning at home has been tough for the Stormers. Even when Gert Smal and Kobus van der Merwe served as head coaches the Stormers performed better in Australia and New Zealand.
Last year the Stormers were a mess, yet they still won twice on tour and could have had another win.
Winning away from home is not an aberration and this team is not the exception. What will make them different to their predecessors is if they can now dominate the scoreboard at Newlands.
So what’s the solution? Consider it an away game and use the fact that half the squad aren’t from Cape Town and are in fact visitors to Newlands. It was never a home ground to them in their formative years. Treat it like the enemy battlefield now and conquer it.
Current form and the quality of the opposition in the next six weeks favour the Stormers. Then again that might be creating the kind of expectation that seems to be their biggest enemy.
Physically the Stormers were strong overseas. Mentally they have to be stronger when playing in front of family and friends.
The signs are good for the Stormers … no they’re better than good.
The win against the Force was not a surprise and the Force losing at home was not the shock result the Australian observers would have us believe. The Force’s tournament record is better on the road than at the Subiaco Oval. The point is they are a team that gets beaten at home.
The positive of the Stormers win was the absolute domination in all areas of the game. The tight five were strong and the back row unit was able to be more effective because of this. The knock on effect was obvious and with forward momentum the halfbacks started to play like world beaters.
As well as Peter Grant has played in the last four matches I still think the team is better with Tony Brown at flyhalf, Grant at inside centre and Jean de Villiers at No 13.
Grant, direct in his approach and composed on the ball, was very good on tour, while Conrad Jantjes at fullback was equally effective. Where the backs have improved over the last four weeks is in the timing of their pass and the effective use of yardage before making the offload.
Previously they would collect and pass without questioning the mindset of the defender. Now they challenge the defender’s perception of space and depth and force a commitment before making the offload. It sounds simple, but it isn’t because they are one of only a handful of teams in the competition getting it right.
Of the forwards Schalk Burger’s presence has been colossal and Andries Bekker’s contesting of lineout ball and Brian Mujati’s all-round contributions have been closer to exceptional than good.
The Stormers, sixth on the ladder and on the climb, are in a good space.
But there are a few home demons they have to sort out because they can’t afford to get spooked in the next month.
PS: Stormers home record in the last five years (48.5 percent).
69 Comments
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1 Apr 2008, 06:06 am
Ja Pietman – I saw it. Really amazing.
1 Apr 2008, 06:07 am
JE
Wie, ou gerber?
Nee, hy byt nie, hy spoeg net!
Dalk is hy haasbek…
1 Apr 2008, 06:09 am
Great news about Maties and Ikeys.
Never forget the vasities in the 80′s…best ever was ’87 [or was that '88?], when it was played at Newlands. Some of us still wonder how we got there and back. I just know we went through on the Wednesday – got to Pig, did a 6 hour happy hour marathon, eventually made it back to Lanzerac, hit a happy hour there, and just kept going until the Sunday. That did cost me over a million brain cells, I am konwinsed.
1 Apr 2008, 06:10 am
Ok Okes (Pietman/JE),
Have to get ready for work. Will check the other threads before I go.
Pietman, I’m surprised Mugabe didn’t release the results a week back!
JE, Exactly what I was driving at – Americas’ idea of capitalism – only if there’s a profit to be made.
Have a great day gents!
1 Apr 2008, 06:13 am
Ek dink ‘n WP ou het sy OP chick gespyker…toe raak hy so kwaad hy begin Vaskop- en Loskopkunde [altwee op standaardgraad] studeer om eendag wraak te neem, wat toe nooit gebeur nie, nou leef die droom voort deur Messiah Heinke.
1 Apr 2008, 06:14 am
Cheers OCO.
Yes, I also have to get going over here.
See you later.
1 Apr 2008, 06:15 am
Have great day OCO & Pietman…bedtime.
1 Apr 2008, 06:15 am
JE, maak so.
1 Apr 2008, 08:42 am
10. Slappes, is jy HJS of Gim?
1 Apr 2008, 08:54 am
Well I’ve been doing my utmost to ensure that Newlands is a hostile environment for the home team every time I go to watch a game there.
No need to thank me. Just doing what I love.
1 Apr 2008, 08:54 am
Naas reckons home ground advantage is worth 7-10 points.
The reason they lose at Newlands is that they act on the field like the prima donnas they are treated like in Cape Town.
All supporters expect their side to win. You think crowd expectation is high at Newlands… try Loftus or Kings Park (or Ellis Park when the Boks play)
1 Apr 2008, 10:46 am
It has absolutely nothing to do with karma! It has to do with being well prepared, well drilled and playing to your potential. These are professional rugby players – now that they are getting the correct coaching they will produce for the fans – don’t you worry about that.
1 Apr 2008, 10:57 am
PDV suggestion of 3 sa teams in playoffs is not looking so far fetched anymore.Sharks and stormers looking like contenders and were it not for the bulls cowardly and disgraceful capitulation at the hands of all in sundry which no one could have predicted it probably could have been 3.what do u think?
1 Apr 2008, 11:01 am
Plus the Lions are still gunning for fourth place.
1 Apr 2008, 11:39 am
64…wishful thinking
1 Apr 2008, 12:31 pm
Karma, look where it got Earl, back in the slammer is where it got him…. Damn that Carson Daly, damn him to hell…
1 Apr 2008, 12:32 pm
61, I don`t see any primadonnas under Rassie. Those days are gone my friend…
1 Apr 2008, 12:36 pm
12. And Tackler, you are a mid table blogger, nothing more, nothing less
2 Apr 2008, 17:11 pm
I was really proud of my team the past 4 weeks down under but they threw the game away against the Blues. Watson made me s00000 mad when he gave away that pen in the last minute! That really cost us the game!
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