Stormers still treading water
28 Feb 2011
The Stormers need to pull themselves out of their pre-season funk before they suffer a campaign-threatening setback, writes JON CARDINELLI.
After 84 minutes of high drama, the Newlands faithful rejoiced at the final whistle. The scoreboard reflected a 19-16 victory, and the Stormers’ log tally totalled eight points after just one round.
As far as these particular stats are concerned, the Stormers will be smiling. They may argue that these are the only figures that matter.
There are less flattering stats, however, that suggest the Stormers’ performance was as disjointed as their pre-season showings. Three points separated the Lions and the Stormers, and had the Cape team lost, there would have been unequivocal talk of disaster and portending capitulation.
The Lions are yet to produce the results to substantiate their self-imposed tag of Super Rugby contenders, and until they do, they will remain a side that play-off aspirants should expect to beat. Play-off contenders can’t drop home games, and they certainly can’t drop home games against the traditionally weaker Super Rugby sides.
The Stormers avoided disaster last Saturday when Andries Bekker forced a turnover which Conrad Jantjes eventually fly-hacked to touch. It ensured a winning start to the tournament, but their performance only underlined some pre-season concerns.
Gary van Aswegen should never have started the first game at flyhalf, but then it wasn’t as if the selectors had much of a choice. The Cape team released Peter Grant to play in Japan last year, believing he would rejoin the Stormers in January for their Super Rugby preparations. They didn’t back younger flyhalves like Lionel Cronje and Van Aswegen in the Currie Cup, preferring to push for a tournament win through Willem de Waal, a older, limited player that was due to leave South Africa at the end of the 2010 season.
January came and went, and Grant didn’t return to Cape Town. Moves were made to fast-track Van Aswegen at No 10 despite his lack of Currie Cup experience, let alone his unfamiliarity with Super Rugby. Already the Stormers were on the back foot, trying to hand the 21-year-old the exposure he should have enjoyed in the 2010 Currie Cup. Where was the planning and foresight? And how do the powers that be at the Stormers get away with letting their only established flyhalf waste away in Japan?
Flyhalf was the biggest concern until Tiaan Liebenberg injured medial ligaments in the game against Boland, an injury that ruled him out for the entire competition. The management were vocal in support for Liebenberg’s understudy, Deon Fourie, but it was another difficult situation. Fourie didn’t play in the pre-season games due to injury and the other hooker in the squad, Siyabonga Ntubeni, had no Currie Cup and Super Rugby experience.
Fourie’s rustiness was evident in last Saturday’s match against the Lions. He wasn’t in sync with his jumpers at lineout time, and also copped a yellow card for a breakdown infringement after referee Stuart Dickinson had placed the Stormers on a team warning. Assuming Fourie improves in the next few weeks (as he improved to throw the lineout ball that set up Pieter Louw’s game-winning try), the Stormers can expect to improve on their lineout, their primary attacking platform.
But if Fourie goes down with a serious injury during the season, the Stormers don’t have experience in reserve. The absence of a Super Rugby quality hooker could influence the potency of a lineout that dominated all opponents in 2010, and in turn, the Stormers’ attacking momentum. We’ve already seen how the absence of an experienced, Super Rugby flyhalf has limited the Stormers backline.
The Stormers blew an opportunity to make a statement against the Lions, as well as the chance to show that they’d worked out the pre-season problems. The disciplinary afflictions, suspect option-taking and awful execution that stifled their progress in the warm-ups are still painfully apparent.
The defence by any standards has also been a disappointment. The manner in which they conceded linebreaks, as well as the two tries, in their first official game was an indictment on where they presently stand. They were the best defensive side in the competition last year, not to mention the team with the best disciplinary record. Those standards have not been maintained thus far.
They should beat the Cheetahs and Highlanders in the next two weeks, but they need to deliver more controlled and disciplined performances. Stuttering wins over mediocre teams do not inspire confidence, and there’s little doubt that if they serve up the same rubbish against the Bulls on 19 March, they will be unceremoniously and ruthlessly punished.
273 Comments
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28 Feb 2011, 13:23 pm
@cab(cab)-250:
really?
I think the hundreds of thousands of motorists who have a had theirs recalled would disagree with you.
28 Feb 2011, 13:23 pm
All these judgements on the first 80 minutes of play!
Great win by Stormers and plent y of encouraging aspects. Certainly played a lot better than the bulle who were decimated in the second half once the lions got going. That is far more worrying.
What is worrying for us is the lack of brain power in the coaching department. Need Rassie in charge now.
28 Feb 2011, 13:24 pm
those little japanese buggers know how to make things proper, toyota, honda, nissan – dont look too great, not too fancy, by far the most robust reliable. i think its cause they all shortarses so the welding is more accurate.
28 Feb 2011, 13:27 pm
@cab(cab)-253: I must say, I can see my next car being a Nissan. A little ungainly and even a tad boring, but the X-trail makes for on hell of a family wagon.
28 Feb 2011, 13:28 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-254:
no man.
buy yourself a three year old low mileage prado.
nobody will touch you on your studion again.
28 Feb 2011, 13:31 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-254:
exatly right, those nissan’s are built to last and alot cheaper than all these premier brands, unless you got plenty of bodge and want to compensate for your ageing wee fella, in that case get a bmw or a sports car.
28 Feb 2011, 13:32 pm
I got 2 x Nissans and 1 x Isuzu so looky like I’ma riding right in the pound seats way ahead of all these fancy panty Beemer, Mercy and Vorsprungdurch drivers
28 Feb 2011, 13:33 pm
Nissan outstrips overrated Toyota or Honda all the way, no nonsense simple tough as nails reliability at half the running cost or the price
28 Feb 2011, 13:34 pm
@Pinky Kekana kills Beemer buys Merc(gunther)-255: Nice, but I’m trying to avoid the 14l/100km disease. The little X-trail rocks a capable if somewhat unexciting 2L engine. Plus I can pick a late model up for considerably less than the equivalent Prado.
28 Feb 2011, 13:34 pm
@cab(cab)-250: I think that way now,but what about if have nearly unimaginable amounts of boodle and work really long hours to get it building up a business you dont think a person is entitled to a R40 mil beach house lambo’s and other toys for the weekend for fun.
Oh and this is not me lol, but other family members.
28 Feb 2011, 13:34 pm
tho must say i have a soft spot for those old mercs that were built like tanks, and tho am not really into my cars, the best looking is the old 68 gulfwing mercedes – cant remember the name, there only a few of them around.
28 Feb 2011, 13:37 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-258:
we have already established that it doesn’t count if they sleep on bricks.
we all remember the time you had to ask grant to give away your rugby ticket because your transport was broken.
it is exactly that kind of scenario we are talking about bakkie breker
28 Feb 2011, 13:37 pm
@Treehugger(Treehugger)-260:
yip folk must do whatever makes them feel more important, but aint going to take it with them, all this excess dont really get it, rather give it to the ousie cleaning the house as a xmas present…
28 Feb 2011, 13:43 pm
@Pinky Kekana kills Beemer buys Merc(gunther)-262: you remember what punkass, dilly deluded doosasscreep delinquent, you seriously do think the sun shines out of that pompous pommiefaced areshole of yours, don’t you just?
28 Feb 2011, 13:46 pm
@cab(cab)-261: Some years ago I drove an ’85 Merc 230E – the last year that they made the 123 series. It chomped petrol faster than Ricky at the post match buffet, but it was stylish and grand. Leather seats were inner sprung and, although almost 20 years old, as comfortable as anything you could buy today. Gearshift was smooth and easy and cruising was a dream. Until some fukadilly in his dad’s Prado skipped a stop street in Sea Point and smashed into me. Never was the same again, so I sold it. But I do miss that car.
28 Feb 2011, 13:51 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-265:
lol, yeah they great, apart from the fuel, but those old mercs were classic tanks.
28 Feb 2011, 13:51 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-265:
the back seat on those things is like a sofa
28 Feb 2011, 13:52 pm
@cab(cab)-263: No ! you don’t get it, some people work very hard and are at the office 9 10 at night finishing paper work, when the weekend comes, you relax with friends and family, playing, drinking, braaing, swimming , jet sking. Come Monday morning you fly back to Joburg.
As you say you cant take it with you, so you enjoy the fruits of you labour now.
28 Feb 2011, 13:53 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-264:
calm down now twatarsecockbreathscmuckface
the AA will be along shortly.
you ARE a member aren’t you?
28 Feb 2011, 13:54 pm
Yup have owned Merc 230E 123 series, and Merc 115 230/4, and Merc 280E 123 series 6, and Merc 116 280S column shift ’74, and a Volvo B18 122S 1962
All of them built like tanks to last, engineered beyond any other layman street car quality, though the Peugeot 404 probably beat them all for durability and reliability and economy.
28 Feb 2011, 13:55 pm
@Treehugger(Treehugger)-268:
hmmm, maybe u right treehuuger, i just dont get it, the ousie works hard too, if not harder.
28 Feb 2011, 13:59 pm
cab is right the 40mil condo on the billionaires mile waterfront with the Maseratti and the Rolls in the garage might be appetizing to those who think it means something but they’re just chains of gold, and they weigh heavier than any chains of cast iron even though they might look like heaven they most certainly aren’t
28 Feb 2011, 18:53 pm
@skopiskoobidoo(ilanjo)-270:
The 403 beats the 404 in durability, body work and reliability.
It had a better engine too although noisy like hell.
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