Ugly win highlights Stormers’ shortcomings
5 Mar 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Stormers’ recent attacking misfires are consistent with a perennial problem.
The Stormers spoke about courage under fire following Saturday’s 15-12 win, coach Allister Coetzee stating the team had become more successful at closing out tight games. Both Coetzee and captain Jean de Villiers said they would take an ugly win over a beautiful loss, alluding to another substandard performance that proved just enough to claim victory.
What a difference three points makes. If not for the heroics of Peter Grant, who booted a touchline conversion in the 78th minute, the game would have ended in a draw.
Losing or drawing at Newlands against a depleted Sharks side should never be construed as acceptable for a Stormers team with title aspirations. If Grant had not booted that winning penalty, the Stormers would be forced to provide answers for their attacking impotence, and for their inability to bank scoring chances as a whole.
Regular goal-kicker Joe Pietersen had a bad night as far as composure was concerned, missing four of his seven attempts. Grant’s penalty ensured that the Stormers entered a bye week with eight log points from two rounds, or as De Villiers impishly put it: ’12 from two’ (four points are awarded by Sanzar in bye weeks).
Does this mean that all is hunky dory in the Stormers camp, and that they have shown that they will be more than mere play-off contenders in 2012? Are the inconsistencies on defence, the botched scoring chances in open play and in front of the posts, as well as the slew of unforced errors suddenly swept under the carpet of ignorance? Or should this Stormers side be working overtime in the next two weeks to remedy their attacking ails?
To be fair, Coetzee and De Villiers resisted the air-punching following the win over the Sharks. Coetzee said there was plenty to work on, while De Villiers promised the attack will become more of a force as the season progressed.
Nevertheless, Stormers supporters will listen to these comments and feel an uncomfortable sense of deja vu. The assurances and pleading for patience is nothing new. And everybody will remember how the 2011 season ended.
The excuses for a lack of attacking synergy following Saturday’s showing were plentiful. De Villiers said the condensation and the extreme heat made the ball difficult to handle. Coetzee said players returning from injury needed time to settle, and that several youngsters were still acclimatising to Super Rugby.
The gist of comments made last Saturday are all too familiar to those made by the Stormers captain and coach during the early stages of last year’s competition. The Stormers began the 2011 season with some ugly wins, and the management declared itself satisfied that a platform was being established. The forwards were performing, the defence was standing firm. So what, they reasoned, if the tries remained elusive. Given the time to build some synergy, the four-try bonus points would come.
Fast forward a year later and the Stormers are still battling to impose themselves on attack. They finished the 2011 season with only 33 tries in 16 league games, and while they started their 2012 campaign with three tries against a disjointed Hurricanes outfit, they finished their second game against the Sharks tryless.
Coetzee admitted after the Sharks game that their struggles for forward continuity had affected their potency, and asked for supporters to be patient. But again, the question has to be asked why the fire, or even a hint of a spark, has been absent two matches into the season. Is there any reason to believe the Stormers will strike the balance between defence and attack that’s been missing from their game over the past few seasons. Promises and assurance were made in pre-season, but we’re still waiting on the Stormers to deliver on these promises.
Some would take aim at the Stormers’ backline, but both the forwards and backs are at fault for a gross underachievement. In the fixture against the Sharks, the Stormers won just 47% possession and 49% territory. They were disciplined, conceding only six penalties, but coughed up too much ball via handling errors and wayward tactical kicks.
They only kept the ball through seven or more phases twice over the course of 80 minutes. The scrum turned in a surprisingly good showing considering the number of greenhorns in their pack but the lineout was inconsistent again. The forwards fired in patches at the breakdown but it wasn’t enough to supply the backs with good ball with which to attack. The Stormers made one measly linebreak; they never looked like scoring a try.
It’s easy to dismiss all the stats, to point to the Super Rugby log like De Villiers and claim the Stormers are on course and exempt from criticism. But a closer look at the quality of their performances will reveal that they’ve been lucky to win the last two games, and that against top opposition they may be found wanting as they were in 2011.
They won ugly on numerous occasions last year, but lost to the big teams. They suffered defeats to the Reds, Bulls, and Crusaders when they failed to negotiate the forward challenge as well as the tactical kicking battle. Because they were unable to win the possession and territorial battles, they struggled to score sufficient points, be it through penalties or tries.
If the Stormers are serious about shrugging off the label of pretenders and are serious about contending for a Super Rugby title, they will need to start performing consistently in all departments and striking a balance in their game. Going by their recent showings, they are some way off from realising this goal, and one wonders if there is enough in this side to ensure they succeed in 2012 where they failed in 2011.
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112 Comments
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5 Mar 2012, 13:58 pm
@Bod(bod)-90:
been out…
no prob bod… but they also do lots fun stuff around here and winelands most weekends… which is when i sometimes join them… helluva lot of fun…
anyway got the facts on this one… it’s the Lesotho Thin Air Challenge (and not the first one either… been going 14 years…) limited to 40 riders…
includes a downhill single-track of 25kms… but that doesn’t take into all the mountains you climb to get there… views are spectacular… but it is really one of the roughest toughest challenges out there… the list of what to take includes just about a complete second bike in pieces…!!
anyway… still good to get to forries or firemans for a few…
5 Mar 2012, 14:08 pm
@welcome to my life, hugh…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-89:
yeah… bismarck is a huge talent… but his own worst enemy too…
hehehe…
i’ve obviously been missing something in mountain biking…!!
but have seen photos of this event… it really does look amazing… and would be great to do it at some point…
5 Mar 2012, 14:23 pm
If they play like that against the Bulls, Reds or Saders this year, the Stormers will AGAIN be thumped!
The Bulls ripped the Cheetahs apart and the Stormers will suffer the same fate if they dont come right.
Its like Deja vu from last season! And watching JJ doing so well at the Bulls does not comfort me either!
Why are Habana and De Villers directing attack? It should be players like De Jongh, Aplon and vd Heever.
I was never a fan of vd Heever, but I honestly think he is a better option than Habana.
Habana is still good at defence, but thats it. A winger is not on the field to defend, is he?
5 Mar 2012, 14:42 pm
Cape Town – The Western Province Rugby Union is hoping to extend the contracts of several of their young stars.
Lock Eben Etzebeth, loose forward Siya Kolisi and props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe all played instrumental roles in the Stormers’ 15-12 victory over the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday night.
These four are all only 20 years old and several scribes suggested recently that the Bulls and Sharks could try to lure them away from Western Province.
But Stormers coach Allister Coetzee told Die Burger they are confident to retain the services of the youngsters for the next few years.
“It is in the pipeline. We want to make a few announcements this week,” Coetzee said when asked whether WP made sure they’ll retain the youngsters’ services.
Kitshoff and Malherbe scrummed exceptionally well against the Sharks, which laid the platform for their eventual 15-12 victory, after flyhalf Peter Grant kicked a touchline penalty in the dying moments.
Etzebeth and Kolisi were equally impressive, standing no inch back against more experienced opposition and showing good, controlled aggression.
“The scrums were a big factor in our victory. It was pleasing to see how a 20-year-old Steven Kitshoff troubled Jannie du Plessis – a Springbok – late in the game.
“We were criticised for our scrumming in the warm-up matches but it’s nice to see how positively the front row and pack responded,” said Coetzee.
Captain Jean de Villiers was also full of praise for his young stars.
“It would be great if we can make a habit of pulling through a game like this one. We had a very young pack out there today, and see how well they went against quality opposition,” De Villiers told SAPA.
5 Mar 2012, 15:01 pm
@ufo(ufo)-102:
virtual screen five…
5 Mar 2012, 15:28 pm
And not one word about Lawrence disgraceful refereeing?
Integrity means that if you heaped a load of crxx on Bryce Lawrence scalp for bending the QF results, then you should be bold enough to do the same at Mark Larence!
5 Mar 2012, 16:33 pm
It is really sad how there are so many Bulls and Sharks fans who spend entire weeks talking about the Stormers. Or even worse, they spend it talking about imaginary Stormers fans! Or they pretend that JC represents all Stormer fans.
Here are some truths:
1) The Stormers were the best South African side last year.
2) The Stormers were the 2nd best South African side in 2010 (well done Bulls)
3) Most Stormers fans would like to win the title (finally!) this year
4) Most Stormers fans do not think the Stormers are the favorites to win the title.
5) Most Stormers fans think that there is at least possibility to win the title this year
Personally I think the Stormers side look better than I expected with Jacques Fourie leaving and no good incoming fatties to bolster the forwards. So I think they have a good chance to make the play-offs. But for sure at this stage there are other teams that look in better form for the title.
But by the way, the Bullie boys are way too excited for beating a Cheetahs team that are famous for sometimes just not turning up on the day (in super rugby at least)
5 Mar 2012, 18:48 pm
WP…? JOU lekker ding…!!!
5 Mar 2012, 18:57 pm
An ugly win is still a win.
5 Mar 2012, 19:25 pm
@willievz(willievz)-109: ja, think people are super overreacting.
That Sharks team will still cause a lot of trouble, think they should get more credit for the way Stormers attack struggled.
6 Mar 2012, 02:16 am
@wpjoulekkading(wpjoulekkading)-107:
This Shark’s/Rebels supporter couldn’t agree more on the WP content of your post…
Bulls and Stormer’s still by far the best teams in RSA…
Sharks handicapped by their brainless coach…
6 Mar 2012, 10:12 am
It’s all the same thing over and over. Anyone that can read can figure out why the Stormers “impotent attack” has come to be…….Robbie Fleck.
He’s rubbish!!
I had a quick look at the stats…..each year since Fleck has taken over as back line and attack coach Stormers/WP have scored progressively less try’s. Only a muppet couldn’t figure out that this has something to do with him?
Nienaber on the other hand is a really good defensive coach….and this now overshadows the useless Fleck’s abilities…..therefore Stormers have become a defensive unit with almost no attacking skills anymore. Nienaber is now the dominant force in WP Rugby…..and it’s showing in their method of play.
You can’t score try’s against them…….but they can’t score try’s…..period!!
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