Stormers lack killer instinct
9 May 2011
JON CARDINELLI says the Stormers’ inability to land the knock-out punch will cost them in the play-offs.
Eight victories have shown why they’re good enough to win the South African conference. Two defeats have shown why they won’t claim the title itself.
They failed to match the tactical kicking exploits of Will Genia and Quade Cooper, and that defeat to the Reds mirrored the defeat to the Bulls in the 2010 Super 14 final. They played themselves into a position to beat the Crusaders last Saturday, but shocking decision making and even worse finishing meant the visitors escaped with a win.
The Crusaders were fortunate to come away with four log points. They went into the match without six All Blacks and lost as many as four players to injury in the first 40 minutes. To win in spite of that handicap was nothing short of incredible.
The achievement is more significant when you consider that they did it at Newlands in front of 49 000 people, the majority of whom were, despite all reports to the contrary, screaming for the Stormers. The Crusaders now know that when the going gets tough, their second and third stringers can be trusted to handle the pressure.
The opposite is true of the Stormers, who unlike the Crusaders boasted a side close to full strength. They lost at home to a depleted Crusaders side that played with more courage than synergy. It was not a case of being taught a lesson by a seven-time champion team. It was a case of the Stormers losing the game rather than the Crusaders winning it.
Trailing 20-14 with 13 minutes to play, you need to take the three points. You have to kick the penalty goal and start again.
Schalk Burger may have felt that the Stormers had the momentum and were on the verge of a breakthrough, and some would even see it as a show of faith in his team mates. But persisting with a decision to kick for touch three times, and ignoring the fact that the opposition has turned you over previously, was insanity.
It was a frantic and thoughtless approach that was consistent with the Stormers’ overall performance. They produced some spectacular linebreaks but just couldn’t find the tryline without knocking the ball on or turning it over. It’s become a trend this season if you remember a few other incidents where a try has been butchered. Those incidents are easy to forget when the scoreboard reflects a win, but harder to ignore after a bad loss.
The Stormers will say that their focus is on the Chiefs this week, but they have to start thinking long-term. What will happen when they arrive in the play-offs? Can they be expected to close out tight matches by finishing strongly and taking the right options when they can’t even do it in the league stage? They’ve proved that they can beat the traditional powerhouses away from home, but they’re yet to exhibit a championship winning mentality.
They need to develop their tactical kicking game, and they need to be more ruthless when they are attacking from the right areas of the field. While progress is required on the pitch, the coaches also have to play their part. The substitutions in the final quarter of Saturday’s game certainly did the team no favours.
Jaque Fourie was subbed because of injury, but what of the others? Bringing Kurt Coleman on at flyhalf and asking him to win the game was unfair to Coleman and Lionel Cronje. Swapping the dependable Dewaldt Duvenage for the erratic Ricky Januarie at a time when you require quick, clean ruck ball was madness. All these decisions served to disrupt the backline at a stage when they needed to be at their most clinical.
The Stormers may have won eight out of 10 games but they are running out of time to progress. They will need to rest their top players at some point (Andries Bekker, Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen have played an exhausting amount of rugby) but that may also inhibit their development. It’s going to be a difficult to balance those priorities, but Coetzee and co have to find a way. It will mean the difference between winning the South African conference and winning the tournament itself.
160 Comments
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9 May 2011, 22:53 pm
if Christian Cullens nickname was ‘beer bottle’ (nothing from the neck up), then Schalk Gouger makes him look like the full-pint
“Stormers captain Schalk Burger has admitted that he made a “bad call” by not telling Lionel Cronje to kick penalties in the second half and to go for the try instead.
The Stormers were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute when they were trailing 14-20 and instead of kicking for goal they kicked for touch and started the first of three rolling mauls.
Despite putting the injury hit Crusaders under a lot of pressure in their half the Stormers efforts came to nothing.
“Hindsight is always an exact science.” Burger told Sport24.
“I thought we had the Crusaders under the cosh,” said Burger.
“We could not get the points and later got more opportunities. ”
“It’s always difficult. It’s a decision made on the gut feel of the senior players.
“If you take the three points, they kick off again and you may well be back in your 22. ”
“The decision would have been a good one had we scored a try, but in the end it was a bad call.”
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee also backed his decsion to bring on replacements late in the match starting with Brok Harris for the CJ van der Linde in the 49th minute.
While some of the replacements were forced by injury bringing on fresh legs only had a negative impact on the Stormers’ rhythm.
“That is why the substitutes are there. It was never going to be an effort by only 15 players. It needed all 22 of them. ”
“We needed the fresh legs and energy. You could see the guys that were sent on were full of energy, but in the end you have to be able to keep possession,” said Coetzee.
“We were our own worst enemy. We made mistakes, lost possession in the lineouts and there were balls that weren’t kicked out. At least we know we can put it right.”
The Stormers still lead the South African conference but have now lost two matches at home and will find that winning away from home is much more difficult.”.
10 May 2011, 00:22 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-151: Yep and it did not help that Burger broke the defensive line when he rushed up allowing the Crockett to score in the hole he just left. Piss poor Schala besides some pretty stupid tactical decions too. Overated dragon.
The Stormers will need a miracle from now on in.
10 May 2011, 01:22 am
Same old same old JC. Like a broken record. SA sides are ****, Stormers nowhere near good enough, foreign sides are amazing.
10 May 2011, 02:48 am
@Yetirat(Yetirat)-153:
But the diehards do not like you saying that.
They prefer to paint a non-existent but yet colourful picture
10 May 2011, 04:33 am
Stormers present more than a few similarities with the national team, when their inability to brute force their way to the line, they’ve got no B plan.
Crusaders were ripe for the picking, they’re playing all games away, and they’ve got the longest injury list of any team in the competition and are missing some 5 or 6 All Blacks including Carter and McCaw.
Yet of all the teams in the competition the Crusaders are the ones that have yet again revealed the soft underbelly of SA rugby. They showed the patience to soak up the pressure, the ability to turn a half break into points and the depth to bring on 3rd stringers who played like they’ve been there for years.
Aussie are just going to lap this up because it’s only showing that SA still haven’t made any ground since last years Tri Nations flop!
10 May 2011, 05:03 am
I see old Cipriani is at it again. Just throwing it all away one day at a time.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/09052011/58/super-15-cipriani-banned-own-team-mates.html
10 May 2011, 09:23 am
@Dusky(Dusky)-148: these deals are damn expensive to make. Stormers failed to do a loan deal with BJ Botha last year because of the associated insurance costs….I somehow see Cheetahs balking at the cost as there playoff chances are slim.
Ruan should only be considering a team that has realistic playoff ambitions imo.
Sharks / Stormers ….with a outside chance of Bulls…
10 May 2011, 12:54 pm
@Yetirat(Yetirat)-156: He never had “it”… Johnson figured that out a while back… Looks like the Rebs bought a dud… Like Toulon did…
10 May 2011, 12:55 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-158: However, I am certain Cipriani is a perfect fit for the Stormers…
10 May 2011, 13:02 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-158: Opportunity is what he’s had. And plenty of it!
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