‘Senior core must steer Stormers’
16 Jan 2012
Schalk Brits and Neil de Kock believe the Stormers’ senior core must absorb the pressure that comes with Rassie Erasmus’ shock exit.
The former WP stalwarts were in Cape Town recently with English Premiership champions Saracens, who made the trip down from Watford to train in warmer conditions ahead of their European Cup group game against Biarritz (which they won 20-16). Both players were shocked by Stormers director of coaching Erasmus’ announced resignation last week, which many feel is another critical blow for the Cape franchise ahead of the new Super Rugby campaign. The loss of players like Jaque Fourie (Japan), Johann Sadie, Lionel Cronje and JJ Engelbrecht (all Bulls) were also major setbacks.
However, Brits and De Kock believe the senior players in the squad can help the team overcome the disappointing losses over the off-season, mainly Erasmus’ departure.
‘I spent a week with the Stormers last season as a late injury replacement, so I know that they have a strong senior core to depend on,’ Brits told keo.co.za. ‘Guys like Schalla [Schalk Burger], Jean de Villers, Andries Bekker and Bryan Habana all know what it will take to push through these difficult times and will have to shoulder the responsibility of helping the team progress and settle.
‘When I was here last year, I saw how hard the team worked – and that was thanks to the great management they have here. And because of all that effort, they qualified for the semis (2011) and final (2010). I’m positive the guys will do the hard yards to continue their impressive Super Rugby form they’ve shown over the last couple of seasons.’
‘I think the Stormers will still do well this season,’ continued De Kock, who is busy with his third and last month of his rehab following a broken arm. ‘There has been the loss of couple of important players and now Rassie, but the structures that have been implemented over the last four years are still in place. The current management just needs to continue with the things that have worked well and the senior players need to lead the pack.’
De Kock added that the experience the Stormers have picked up over the last couple of seasons could help them break their title drought this season. The Stormers reached the Super Rugby final in 2010 and the semi-final last year – but the team hasn’t won a competition since WP lifted the Currie Cup trophy in 2001.
‘It’s difficult to point out the exact ingredient needed to take a team all the way to the title,’ said De Kock. ‘But after falling short in the final stages over the last two seasons, the Stormers have gained the experience to know what it takes to win. The senior core will be the best players to advise those guys around them – especially the young ones coming through the system into the senior squad.
‘Saracens went through a similar run, where we fell short of the title. We learnt the hard way but that helped us go all the way last season. It could be a similar story for the Stormers.’
By Gareth Duncan
34 Comments
16 Jan 2012, 12:44 pm
player commitees can be a good thing, but they can also be a bad thing.
16 Jan 2012, 12:51 pm
Nice. Another Stormers article.
About time.
16 Jan 2012, 12:58 pm
what media hype?
16 Jan 2012, 13:02 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-3: Exactly.
Just good old fashioned conservative reporting
16 Jan 2012, 13:06 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-3:
i like.
so when they ask Plod about the sharks “underachievers” thread it is news, when they ask brits & de kock on the stormers it’s “media hype”.
16 Jan 2012, 13:08 pm
Hehehe…
16 Jan 2012, 13:23 pm
Gareth D
You must be JC’s mini-me. Now when did you sneak this Stormers article in?
16 Jan 2012, 13:40 pm
@RL-7: You weren’t complaining about the several Lions articles that headlined during the play-off stages of the Currie Cup
Relax RL, all teams will be covered during the week. The Lions too.
16 Jan 2012, 13:45 pm
The end of WP!!!
16 Jan 2012, 13:55 pm
@RL-7: @Gareth-8:
Gareth is finding it hard to get any kind of interview going with the Lions squad because all the Lions Rugby Union telephone lines have been disconnected by Telkom due to non-payment.
16 Jan 2012, 13:56 pm
WPTID…
16 Jan 2012, 13:56 pm
The Cape bias in news coverage here is beyond a joke. All four the other franchises combined have less stories than the Stormers. I can understand the Rassie story, because it’s fairly big news. But every bloody day it’s AC this, AC that. There are other coaches too. And other assistant coaches. And other administrators. And players. And ex players. Getting a quote or an angle on a story is the easy part. Writing a coherent and interesting article can be more tricky.
16 Jan 2012, 14:01 pm
@Gareth-8: Oh dear.
So it will be confirmed that the GLRU will be placed into provisional liquidation then??
Shamepies.
16 Jan 2012, 14:03 pm
@>^..^< katman-12:
don’t forget this is just a low budget rugby blog with all “journalists” forced to use a “hot desk/seat/laptop/printer etc”
no money for “foreign correspondents” to bring news from the savage hinterland.
16 Jan 2012, 14:05 pm
F*k, dit lyk soos http://www.wprugby.co.za hier.
16 Jan 2012, 14:07 pm
Visit Keo.co.za for the latest WP/Stormers and other rugby news.
16 Jan 2012, 14:08 pm
@Gareth-8:
please do a head to head article of heyneke versus smal and what potential strengths and weaknesses they bring to the job.
its pretyy much an open secret that they’re the only two frontrunners for the job s oyou guys might as well start foccusing on them, no?
16 Jan 2012, 14:11 pm
Katman @ 12
http://Www.lionsworld.co.za
have a feast…
16 Jan 2012, 14:21 pm
@ufo-18: sheesh. The last article was in October 2011.
I guess Katters will have to console himself with the odd titbit from Keo.
16 Jan 2012, 14:25 pm
SB…
exactly…
but at least it’s exclusively lions… with no pesky stormers getting in the way…
16 Jan 2012, 14:26 pm
@Gareth-8: Gareth, ja, we can’t wait for that Lions article telling us why nothing should be read into the Lions’ CC win as far as Super Rugby is concerned.
When the “bankrupt” Lions team does as well or better than the other high spending high overhead teams it will create a bit of a stir in the local rugby market.
16 Jan 2012, 14:45 pm
@stormersboy-19:
16 Jan 2012, 14:52 pm
Rent a quote Brits
16 Jan 2012, 15:00 pm
Hmmm… I don’t think KEO’s team is ready to do actual work yet. Seems like they’re quoting the local newspapers which are obviously delivered to their front door each morning. (Since they’re all living in CT)
As for Gareth-8‘s remark about the Lions in CC final: Lions featured. WP bombed out… once again.
16 Jan 2012, 15:19 pm
@WP Till I Die-10:
16 Jan 2012, 15:19 pm
Guys it’s really simple… If you don’t like the site, the reporting or the articles, then don’t visit it.
Even as a Stormers supporter, I’ve been visiting this site less as I find it uninteresting. The Keo circus will soon realise they need to up their game if they don’t get much internet traffic.
I find the comments section more interesting than the reporting on here.
16 Jan 2012, 16:20 pm
The boys need to justify the expensive trailer park where keo is billeting them in Hermanus to cover the stormers training camp with at least 4 stormers articles a day.
Expect an article on how the teams sand castle building self-belief is as strong as ever.
16 Jan 2012, 16:27 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-27: What happened to the daily sunburn update we were promised?
16 Jan 2012, 16:28 pm
@>^..^< katman-28:
they decided there were enough red faces in the stormers scrum.
16 Jan 2012, 17:08 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-29:
Class
16 Jan 2012, 17:14 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-29: You talking about Brock “dis net ‘n poep” Harris?
16 Jan 2012, 17:36 pm
Brok.
The little engine that couldn’t.
16 Jan 2012, 19:58 pm
Why all the fuss about erasmus leaving the 2nd raters it is his choice and he has made it hew
16 Jan 2012, 20:04 pm
Why all the fuss about erasmus leaving the 2nd raters it is his choice and he has made it he wants to better himself and if he has to leave to do it so be it.Please no more blogs on this subject,let him go and get on with life.
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