Coetzee denies BMT concerns
3 Jul 2011
Allister Coetzee says the Stormers don’t suffer from ‘stage fright’, despite them losing a home semi-final and three other big matches at Newlands this season.
It was the same old, same old disappointment from the Stormers. After the Super 14 final and the Currie Cup semi-final defeats to the Bulls last year, they blew another play-off tie as they delivered a dismal display against the Crusaders that saw them lose 29-10.
Realistically, the Cape side were favourites for the win. The game was played in their own back yard and had the previous week off while the Crusaders had to travel from New Zealand immediately after their qualifier triumph over the Sharks the Saturday before. Despite this advantage, Coetzee’s men imploded. The hosts looked like they were the ones who travelled around the world for the match as they were outplayed and beaten convincingly.
In retrospect, the semi-final hiding against the Crusaders was the Stormers’ fourth big defeat at Newlands in 2011. They lost against the Reds, Crusaders (again) and Bulls during the league stage at home – all pressure fixtures. After the loss against the Bulls, Coetzee defended his team by saying they won more close games this year, even with a flyhalf injury crisis. After Saturday’s semi-final loss, Coetzee lamented the performance but argued that the players didn’t falter because of the pressure.
‘We didn’t suffer from stage fright. We were beaten by a better Crusaders side,’ Coetzee told keo.co.za. ‘There is reason to be critical. We were poor in the scrums, we made elementary errors and the Crusaders capitalised on turnover ball.
‘We also let ourselves down tactically. By half-time, the Crusades made 70 tackles while we only made 20. We had more ball but we were playing it in the wrong areas of the field. We played with two inexperienced scrummies too and they did well. The loss of Dewaldt Duvenage was huge though as he’s been in these type of situations before and he’s been instrumental for us.
‘But I don’t think we lost because of stage fright. We just need to take this defeat on the chin and move on. This has still been a successful season.’
Inside centre Jean de Villiers said the Stormers’ early missed try opportunity had an effect on the game.
‘We scored the first points of the match, but we should’ve scored a try,’ De Villiers said. ‘We ran about four or five phases near the try line and decided to go with the short options. The Crusaders would’ve been happy with only conceding three points in that situation. After that, they scored an intercept try and from then the momentum swung their way.
‘I think these play-off defeats will help us in future seasons. The Bulls lost play-off games before they won their first Super Rugby title. It’s flipping tough but we just need to keep our chins up.’
Coetzee added that he believes silverware will come soon as he plans to bolster his squad, especially now that flanker Francois Louw (Bath) and lock Anton van Zyl (Stade Francais) will head for Europe.
‘We want to win trophies but we will need to create depth in certain positions,’ said Coetzee. ‘The Crusaders had Matt Berquist and Brent Ward to depend on when they had injuries. Both of those players had Super Rugby experience. The Bulls also have depth as they always have quality players coming off their bench.
‘We need to build a squad of 40 players. There’s plenty of character here but we need to get it right. The trophies will come.’
By Gareth Duncan
175 Comments
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3 Jul 2011, 20:03 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-149:
Statistics mean f’all Titty Titty Bang Bang
Its what ‘Transpires’ on the field of play that count.
And like hips don’t so do eyes not lie. I don’t go counting stats when my eyes tell me all I ever wanna know.
Daniela and Flouw are better as ripping open side players than Steggies, though Steggies works hard he tends to disappear till he gets caught on the wrong side of the breakdown and then its 3 points to the opposition.
Steggies and Bismark the biggest culprits at the breakdown
Daniel and Louw offer more as linking ball carriers, Steggies is simply a breakdown specialist. So if Brussow is not top game fit then its between Louw, Daniel and Steggies for open side but definitely not Burger, absolutely not.
3 Jul 2011, 20:04 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-150: Yep. That pretty much sums it up.
3 Jul 2011, 20:10 pm
“Heinrich Brüssow, a ball fetcher par excellence, should be named along with team-mate Ashley Johnson when the Springbok team for the Tri-Nations is announced on Saturday.
Brüssow will undergo medical tests when the preliminary World Cup group assembles in Cape Town on Wednesday.
He is expected to be fit to face the Wallabies and All Blacks on 23 and 30 July in Sydney and Wellington respectively.
”
(news24) …a few minutes ago.
Titman won’t like this one bit.
3 Jul 2011, 20:11 pm
@nama1(nama1)-153: My only issue with Brussow is injuries… pointless if he plays half a game
3 Jul 2011, 20:14 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-151:
Stats don’t mean “f’all”, and that’s why businesses have been built around them.
How do you say that Steggies is a penalty machine?
It’s because you are using the stats to support your statement.
Even if only a single number comparison.
I’m just pointing out that you’d better show the other side of the story. i.e. Where are the penalties conceded? And how much of these areas does each player contribute to? Etc. So it’s rubbish that Stegmann is a penalty machine.
Why not we start a new tune and say that Louw has butterfingers?
And handling error every 9 handle counts compared to an error only every 27 counts by Stegmann.
So, how many times was Louw responsible for his team losing possession and territory just due to his poor handling?
And what’s wrong with stats to point out which flyhalf kciks more accurately? Which flank misses fewer tackles, which flank bursts over the gainline more readily.
The more numbers you have, the more apparent trends become, and it was the same way last year between Steggies and Louw.
Talking about “linking” flanks is just sad.
And I’ll take a specialist over a hybrid any day of the week. Depends on the position. You want a flexible tighthead again? Or you want a specialist?
How is Steggies “just” a b/d specialist when he defends better than Louw and breaks tackle better than Louw too?
3 Jul 2011, 20:19 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-155: ATT
Is your surname Stegmann? Father, brother or perhaps THE Stegmann?
If not your obsession is unhealthy.
3 Jul 2011, 20:19 pm
Let me just put it this way:
Sorry for bringing this debate up again. But the no.6 position is where we can expect some controversy and disagreement.
I just find it fascinating that, in South Africa, where we boast about our depth in loose forwards, Burger gets an injury and now in the minds of many there is only one man fit for the job, and the rest are suddenly rubbish.
Stegmann being the 1st choice since he was 21 in a union that has 3 from 4, and has the respect of his overseas counterparts, has no respect at home (well, amongst certain). That doesn’t make sense, and people are simply being hypocrites at this point.
3 Jul 2011, 20:20 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-157: I think there are a number of great 6s in SA, each bring something else to the party.
Stegman, Daniels when he doesn’t brain **** etc etc. No point in arguing about it.
3 Jul 2011, 20:21 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-156:
I’m not going to change. And on the other thread you started it, so don’t tell me I have an unhealthy obsession. Are you obsessed with me?
I’m pointing this out because, as I mentioned above, no.6 will be an interesting choice in the next few weeks, and if people can’t complain about penalties regarding Steggies, what else do they have to complain about? So it takes a few posts to set the record straight.
3 Jul 2011, 20:23 pm
@nama1(nama1)-153:
It’s about time that Brussow gets back on track. Like Stegmann, if Brussow is fit, then he basically never has a bad game and always delivers a huge work rate.
3 Jul 2011, 20:27 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-158:
Yes, but what to do when there are 4 available for selection? It’s about combos and how the coaches plan to divide the workload/roles between players, what style they envision.
3 Jul 2011, 20:35 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-159: hey, it’s ok if you are close family or something like that, I’d probably do the same thing on here if, say, my brother played for a Super team.
3 Jul 2011, 20:36 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-161: “What style they envision”, I almost fell off my chair laughing…
Not that what you say is wrong I just have trouble imagining our 3 stooges envisioning anything beyond their navels
3 Jul 2011, 20:44 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-163:
I just wonder how people would have reacted if we did beat Scotland and walked away with a grandslam for the first time in decades. The difference between respecting the team and calling for wholesale change was only a small handful of calls by a ref. It isn’t inconceivable that we can lose to Scotland in Scotland, you know. The point is: That team is still the same.
3 Jul 2011, 20:50 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-162:
I’m not family, I support my team, as do you, and Stegmann happens to be a Bulls player and I’m glad for it. I just think that he has a very good case, and then people want an explaination and then I have to show them exactly why their thinking about “excessive” penalties is wrong. How simple can it be?
I don’t mind responding to people, I don’t mind taking the time to answer questions, or encourage discussion.
If I feel that somebody is wrong, I supply a reason why I think so. He can either:
A) Admit he was wrong; B) Keep quiet about the matter altogether; C) Counter my argument and try to convince me that I was mistaken; D) Respond irrationally like you did.
I don’t mind too much.
3 Jul 2011, 21:09 pm
@Agile T*t-Tyrant(Anairetes agilis)-165: then I worry for Stegmann.
3 Jul 2011, 21:20 pm
@wooden spoon(wooden spoon)-166:
Implying that I’m a stalker?
I’ve got no bloody interest in Stegmann’s personal life. This is a blog, and people throw the most meaningless load of rubbish around here.
Here and there you find something worth reading.
I say again: I was just supplying good reasons for why this penalty-risk stigma is nonsense. I don’t mind too much, but maybe I can help some people right and have some decent conversation at the same time.
You know, when the ill-informed stop whining about penalties and other things they know little about, then maybe they can start properly appreciating the rugby talent that this country has.
4 Jul 2011, 05:16 am
Alot of meaningless posts but back to the rugby. I think its dissapointing that the stormers didnt show much heart but they were never going to beat a side which is arguably stronger than the all blacks. The only All Blacks who I would take over current Crusaders players is Mils at 15, Gear instead of Maitland (although you are not losing much either way) and Kaino / Thomson at 6. The centre combination of SBW and Fruean is certainly stronger than the current AB centre pairing which is Nonu and Smith and the Crusaders front row should be the AB front row. Unreal.
So how could you realistically expect a Stormers team who only has 4 starting Springboks (Habs, Fourie, JDV, Burger) to compete with a almost full strength international team. Coming from a realistic Stormers fan, I do feel their was alot of blind patriotic faith coming from the Keo writers misleading the public into thinking the Stormers somehow should start as favourites.
4 Jul 2011, 07:09 am
Big Match Temperament lacking? Maybe. Big Match Tactics lacking? Definitely.
4 Jul 2011, 07:35 am
CHOKERS!!!!!!!!
4 Jul 2011, 12:38 pm
Christchurch has 378,000 people – little more than a village. Year in and year out they have the cream of nz rugby players and have dominated the super rugby competition. Currently I would say 13 of their team would start for the ABs.
Now what I would like to know, given their small crowds of roughly 15 to 18 thousand, is how they can afford such a talented squad year after year. They have a number of the best players in world rugby on their books.
What is going on? Can someone please explain?
4 Jul 2011, 12:40 pm
I would love to know where the money is coming from that allows the crusaders to gather together the cream of nz rugby?
4 Jul 2011, 12:45 pm
@Beeno(Beano)-172:
The Top 150 rugby players in NZ are all contracted to the NZRFU. They are the paymasters.
4 Jul 2011, 13:08 pm
@cane(cane)-173:
Okay then on what basis are they distributed? How come the crusaders get the cream?
4 Jul 2011, 20:12 pm
@Beeno(Beeno)-174:
Players who become “cream” at the Crusaders often were run of the mill in other franchises. It wasn’t until they were exposed to the Crusaders ethos that they achieved their potential.
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