Ruthless Saders give Stormers free lesson
16 Apr 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Stormers will need more than guts to end their 11-year trophy drought.
Consider the term ‘brave defeat’. Which word ultimately matters?
That the Stormers showed tremendous valour in Christchurch is not up for debate. They lost both of their starting locks in the first half, and still they managed to stand up to an All Blacks-studded Crusaders pack. They lost Rynhardt Elstadt to an absurd call from referee Chris Pollock in the final quarter, and still they managed to collect a losing bonus point.
But brave defeats are still defeats. There should be no consolation for title aspirants when they drop a game against other big contenders. The Stormers should not find solace in the fact that they went to Christchurch and pushed the seven-time champs close. The reality is it was a game the Stormers could have won had they been more bloody-minded.
It was the difference between the two sides. The Crusaders have a knack of winning games they shouldn’t, it’s become something of a trademark. They may not dominate a fixture from start to finish but they make the most of their opportunities, however few they are in number. This was once again highlighted in the most recent clash with the Stormers.
There are some Stormers fans who will aim their frustration at referee Chris Pollock. While I agree that Pollock had a howler last Saturday, I wouldn’t say he cost the Cape side the game. If anything Pollock was consistent, handing out dubious yellow cards to both teams and missing the sleight of hand at both sides of the breakdown.
But which team made the most of the referee’s mistakes? The Stormers benefited from a Pollock gaffe in the build-up to Bryan Habana’s try. A knock on by Joe Pietersen wasn’t spotted by Pollock or his assistants, and so the try stood at what was an important period of the contest.
The Stormers suffered a terrible blow when Andries Bekker and Eben Etzebeth left the field with injuries in the first half, but they had a fantastic opportunity to take the lead towards the end of the second quarter. Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett was carded for an innocuous tackle and so the hosts went a man down for 10 minutes.
It’s not clear why the Stormers are unable to take advantage in these situations. The Hurricanes were down to 13 men in the first round match against the Stormers, but the Cape side still battled to breach the Hurricanes line. It was embarrassing to see flyhalf Gary van Aswegen kicking a drop goal after a 15-man Stormers attack failed to penetrate a 13-man Hurricanes defence.
Looking back, we can say that impotency proved a sign of things to come.
Last Saturday, the Stormers scored three points while Crockett was off the park, but also conceded three at the other end. The Stormers should have piled on the points at this stage, and were made to regret blowing such an opportunity later in the piece.
The Crusaders were ruthless by comparison. When Elstadt was sin-binned they scored nine points. From there, they continued to pressure the Stormers and with the visitors trailing by 10 points that pressure told, with the Stormers making some basic errors in their own 22. The Crusaders finished this game well but the match was won while Elstadt was in the bin.
There is no denying the Stormers were at a disadvantage having lost both locks, and that they did remarkably well to emerge with a losing bonus point. But looking at the game as a whole and how close they came to recording their first-ever win in Christchurch, they should be disappointed more than anything else.
That it is not a new thing to squander such opportunities should be cause for concern. They had the Sharks on the rack in round two when Ross Skeate was yellow-carded in the 60th minute. They should have closed out the game but only scored three points, and when Skeate returned the Sharks launched a fierce challenge that so nearly forced an upset.
When they hosted the Bulls, the Stormers had a golden opportunity to extend their lead when lock Flip van der Merwe was carded in the 42nd minute. But again they wilted under the pressure, they didn’t seem to enjoy the advantage. They didn’t score again until the 62nd minute. In fact it was the Bulls who scored 10 unanswered points while Van der Merwe was off the field.
The Stormers have shown a lot of guts this season, the manner in which they defend shows their incredible courage under fire. There is a big difference, however, between courage and ruthlessness.
Being brave isn’t enough to win championships. The Stormers need to start showing some killer instinct if they want to be genuine title contenders rather than also-rans.
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405 Comments
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16 Apr 2012, 05:07 am
Ruthless Saders? Is that not pushing the DRAGON a little to far?
Do the keo scribes getpaid bonusses based on the more rediculous headings they can come up with?
16 Apr 2012, 05:18 am
As for incompetent refs, the moment you get into a situation where you compare who ‘benefitted’ most from mistakes a ref made you are already a long way down the wrong track. There is absolutely no way you can gauge what one mistake cost a team in a specific time/place in a match to another at a different time and place.
Same goes for the argument that a better tem would have/should have overcome a poor ref, it just does not work that way. Impossible to say what would have been if you were not stuck at the wrong end of various dodgy decisions against you. Take the Cheetahs and Chiefs for instance, Brussow wins what appears to be a perfect turnover ball just to be blown up. The lineout following leads to a try to the Chief and Bob’s your uncle. How can we say what the impact would have been if he did not get blown up or even worse told to harden up because these things even out. So where was the Cheetahs opportunity to score a try from a ref error to make this up?
See, very shaky ground when you talk about a ref being poor ‘to both sides’.
Now I posted erlier that I do not have an issue because I do think the Chiefs were the better side and probably would have won anyway and deserve to win as well. But that should not stop us from fighting poor refs and we should NEVER accept it no matter if you win or lose.
16 Apr 2012, 05:38 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-2: Refs have been dreadful for at least the last 4 years. The departure of Paddy is sure to help but the game is still suffering. I’ve argued before and I continue to believe that the Kiwi teams get most of the decisions go their way despite the fact that more of their play resolves around illegalities than any other nation.
Did anyone else think that the guy who handled the Force game did a pretty good job?? I think he did pretty well the week before too. Can’t remember his name though.
16 Apr 2012, 05:48 am
@jeest(jeest)-3:
From the All Blacks down they play a very cynical game and it does appear they get away with a lot, not many tricks they miss.
16 Apr 2012, 05:48 am
Hehehe..
Hardly a free lesson we got…
a costly lesson in terms of log points, injuries and momentum…
and there’s no evidence that we will indeed learn from this…
let’s hope so…
we shall see how (if) they bounce back… or get bounced… this weekend…!!!
16 Apr 2012, 05:50 am
A kicking lesson? by a #10 31 points?
16 Apr 2012, 05:56 am
@jeest(jeest)-3:
The first thing your coach teaches you is respect the refs decisions. Be nice to them. Show them some humility. Never abuse them and perhaps you may get some calls go your way.
16 Apr 2012, 06:11 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-4:
Cynical play?Do you suffer from cataracts? Only in one eye aye.
16 Apr 2012, 06:19 am
@Te Rangatira(Te Rangatira)-8:
Yes, cynical but I do not expect you to see or admit it.
16 Apr 2012, 06:37 am
“The reality is it was a game the Stormers could of won had they been more bloody-minded.”
Could OF???? OF?????? It’s ‘could have’. Please don’t ever do that again. It makes the story read like a post from a forum member, not a professional sports writer.
As far as the game goes, the Stormers were just blown off the park. How can you win anything if the opposition kicks 9 penalties? At least 4 of those were terrible calls. Deserved win for the Crusaders, but they weren’t necessarily that much better than the Stormers.
16 Apr 2012, 06:40 am
Ever since the ELVs got brought in there has been so much changing of the laws and the refs just haven’t kept up with the pace the game has evolved at. The SANZAR referees are constantly coming up with stupid ideas, for example this year they said that 80% of all scrums must be completed on the first hit. This has just led to willy nilly penalty blowing and it really is just a 50:50 call, because the referees have no idea about anything when it comes to scrummaging. It would be far better to have re-setted scrums and a real contest ensuing at scrum time until its blatantly obvious who is in need of penalising. Making the scrums unimportant is almost like a rugby equivalent of a stealth tax! Props are picked more for their mobility then for their scrumming. If scrums were more important and officiated properly, then better scrummagers would be of primary requirement and mobility would be of less importance. This would create more space in the open play and more mismatches, leading to more excitement. Australia however knows that it will have no chance of competing if this is so and is desperate to make rugby union and rugby league merge, so that they can be dominant. Rugby needs fat boys more then it needs the bodybuilders!!!
16 Apr 2012, 06:59 am
Dont blame the ref. Blame Lady luck
“suffered a terrible blow when Andries Bekker and Eben Etzebeth left the field with injuries in the first half”
Kitchoff did well before he was bendt brokeback by Franks Franks Crockett . I rate Tiaan scrum ability as reason Province held their own at times during the match. Credit to Juan De Jond for he was my man of match for Province. But will it be Jean or Francios who will partner him for Boks??
16 Apr 2012, 07:05 am
@greentea(greentea)-976:
for good reason, china.
you and most of the rest of your islands inhabitants are disgusting, boorish, arrogant beer can throwing trollbits (a cross between a hobbit and a troll) who deserve to be told off for what you are, from time to time.
that neither you nor cane had the decency to admit the bottling incident let alone try to explain/excuse/apologise…. or at the least condemn it without feeling you were in some way losing pride (or whatever it is that keeps you from doing so) speaks the usual volumes of you as a people…..yes….you are a disgusting lot of filthy cheats, bottle throwers, cheap shotters, low, dirty unscrupulous liars and self delusional deceivers…..
you guys need to sort yourselves out…simple really….
then the world might actually start to like like you.
16 Apr 2012, 07:06 am
Every team should learn from every game. It is called experience and it is why so many coaches value this.
16 Apr 2012, 07:08 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-4:
farken disgusting rugby they play.
i’d be happier if we pulled out of this sanzar farce.
16 Apr 2012, 07:09 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-9:
We obviously have different perspectives, but when the onus on disciplining players for cynical play is put solely on the referee then there is likely to be stuff-ups.
16 Apr 2012, 07:11 am
The Stormers are still in a pretty good position on the log. They now play two Ausie teams, at least 8 points to bank on.
They do not need to complain.
16 Apr 2012, 07:16 am
@Te Rangatira(Te Rangatira)-16:
Spot on TR and that is my problem, from what I see the AB and Crusaders do it does look like something that comes from the training paddock.
16 Apr 2012, 07:18 am
The biggest lesson here is that the difference between the top few teams is home advantage, keeping penalty count down, not making mistakes and remaining uninjured… not much more to say other than the bounce of the ball!
16 Apr 2012, 07:25 am
Any news on injuries??
16 Apr 2012, 07:27 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-13:
An 87-year-old man who told a group of teens to get off his property was pushed over, hitting his head, police say.
The incident happened after he approached a group of teenagers climbing in bushes outside his Waikanae Beach home at about 4.45pm on Saturday.
Detective Matt Campbell said the man had walked to the front of his property and asked the teenagers to get out of his trees and move along.
”He was verbally abused with one of the youths replying, ‘Who’s going to make us?’
”The teenager then struck out at the gentleman, pushing him off-balance where he fell onto the roadway.”
He was unable to break his fall and his head struck the roadway.
He was found bleeding profusely from the head soon after by neighbours in the Rutherford Drive and Freyberg Crescent area and taken to Wellington Hospital with serious injuries, including lacerations to his face and fractures to his cheekbone.
The teenagers are believed to have run off down William Street and have not been found.
Mr Campbell wanted to hear from anyone who may have seen the assault or seen a group of possible drunk and noisy teenagers in the area at the time.
”This assault on an elderly resident protecting the sanctity of his home is a cowardly attack on a helpless frail old man.
”Whether or not [the offender] describes it as a simple push does not detract from the fact that an elderly gentleman has suffered serious injuries as a result of a foolish act.
“The suspect needs to be held accountable and come forward and speak to Police.”
The main suspect is a male of about 18, probably European with a shaved head, and wearing a black top, black three quarter length shorts and a black baseball cap.
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- © Fairfax NZ News
16 Apr 2012, 07:29 am
What is update on etzebeth’s injury
16 Apr 2012, 07:30 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-13:
And these keewees make out like xenophobia and racism only exists in SA…
A self-described “little old Chinese lady” has waded into the racism debate, saying she has suffered decades of racial abuse.
Victoria Beck, 70, said she has been abused in the street, told to go back to Asia, and even been hit by passers-by, despite calling New Zealand home for most of her life. And the situation was worsening, she said.
“As a little old Chinese lady, I am the target of much more physical, verbal and emotional abuse today.”
Her complaint came after Blues coach Pat Lam suffered racist attacks on internet message boards and talkback radio because of his team’s failings.
Beck said she was not surprised at the attacks against Lam and his team. She migrated here with her family at the age of six and was given an English name to ease the transition. She later took on her husband’s surname.
But having an English name did not stop the racism, she said. “I want people to know how damn vicious some whites are here. The root of it has always been a colour division.”
She recalls being pushed into the gutter in Auckland’s Parnell by a group of young people who told her to “go home, Asian”.
Growing up here, she said, neighbours would scrawl racist remarks on the footpath outside her home. “I felt shame as if there was something wrong with me, my family, my race,” she said. “Chinese have long been a despised minority here.”
She called on ethnic groups to speak up against racism. “Chinese who have lived here for a long time have had hard lives and want to remain under the radar, while those in positions of influence tend to keep quiet in fear of losing their jobs.”
The Sunday Star-Times recently highlighted the plight of the country’s growing number of residents with Asian heritage. Many of those, referred to as the 1.5 generation because of their mixed heritage, raised concerns of discrimination because of their colour and foreign names.
Beck said she witnessed that when she worked as a recruitment consultant in the 1980s and 1990s. “Most applicants of colour did not make the cut.” The Human Rights Commission in New Zealand receives, on average, 472 complaints of racial discrimination, incitement and harassment each year.
RACE RELATIONS HEAD CALLS RACISTS COWARDS
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres has described the authors of the racist abuse directed at Warriors star Shaun Johnson and the Blues as “cowards”. Johnson was labelled a “Asian little gimp” in a posting to his Twitter account shortly after the Warriors’ 32-12 loss to Canberra last weekend.
Ad Feedback 0 The message came to light 48 hours after Blues coach Pat Lam went public with his fury over online and talkback racial abuse directed at him, his family and his players. De Bres said: “I think there is a tendency for people to give vent to their prejudice at the push of a button.”
- © Fairfax NZ News
16 Apr 2012, 07:38 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-23: I love it when Chinese complain of racism. They are the worst culprits on the planet by far!
16 Apr 2012, 07:39 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-22:
I think he will live Dawn, so you can relax…
16 Apr 2012, 07:42 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-21: @Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-23: you really are one thick dutchie arent you boy?
http://allafrica.com/stories/201203271076.html
http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/gettingaway_withmurder.htm
http://rape.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=875&itemid=148
how anyone from a country with stats like these can continue to post about another countries problems is beyond me..have a good read Fern, a woman has more chance of getting raped in SA than learning to read???? WTF?
Absolutely appalling…
for you to houston, this highlights real “filth” and “scum”..
16 Apr 2012, 07:43 am
@HongKongSlong(HongKongSlong)-24:
I will have to take your word,so they are on par with keewees then.
What have you experienced in order to say so?
16 Apr 2012, 07:44 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-23:
yip, thats the kiwis we know.
we see it in their rugby all the farken time but our administrators dont have the balls to sort this verminous behaviour out.
the crusaders, with their three-******* only rule, exemplify the typical traits of kiwis as a whole by the way they play thier low, dirty, cynical style of rugby. so its no surprise really to read this sort of stuff about their everyday people.
“she said. “I want people to know how damn vicious some whites are here. The root of it has always been a colour division.”
She recalls being pushed into the gutter in Auckland’s Parnell by a group of young people who told her to “go home, Asian”.
Growing up here, she said, neighbours would scrawl racist remarks on the footpath outside her home. “I felt shame as if there was something wrong with me, my family, my race,” she said. “Chinese have long been a despised minority here.” …….
welcome to hobbitville….
16 Apr 2012, 07:44 am
I must know!
16 Apr 2012, 07:45 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-26:
Welcome back,I see you are just returning serve as per usual…
We have problems and I am not blind to them.
Just saying that nz is not utopia as you guys make it out to be,
you should know,living in aus…
16 Apr 2012, 07:46 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-23:
I can give you a litany of racial abuse that I have encountered here and in Oz, it hurts and causes anger. But the way you are posting these articles to appease your own and fellow country men self worth is disgusting.Grow up man.
16 Apr 2012, 07:47 am
Bakkies and Small Wanger with Lice.
Stop posting your tripe on this thread
It’s a rugby blog/story FFS
16 Apr 2012, 07:48 am
@Te Rangatira(Te Rangatira)-31:
I dont apease anyone.
I am just highligting that even nz has problems.
Do you even live in nz?
16 Apr 2012, 07:49 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-20:
According to the Cape Times Quinn Roux will be called up to NZ as back up- they indicated Bekker is likely to be out for Saturday and Etsebeth likely to be fit. The way I read it however is that Bekker is out of the tour and Etsebeth at least out of the match.
The Afrikaans paper is less clear- only indicating that Bekker received a hard knock on the lower back and Eben injured a shoulder joint and that neither are serious.
Pack for Friday likely to be:
Malherbe
Tiaan
Kitschoff
Steenkamp
Elstadt
Kolisi
Vermeulen
Koster
16 Apr 2012, 07:50 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-22:
He is just about fine they say.
The new Fudge?
16 Apr 2012, 07:50 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-29:
he will make it and the scarring will be minimal…
16 Apr 2012, 07:51 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-15:
You should pull out of SANZAR your lot aren’t up to the challenge, 10 tri nations to your 3 and six straight losses to Australia says you’d be better off up north you’d have far more chance of avoiding the woden spoon playing Italy and Scotland.
16 Apr 2012, 07:51 am
BMT boys BMT – there are champions side then there are currie cup sides – maybe next year !
16 Apr 2012, 07:51 am
Cheers all,have a great day/evening.
I need to go and see some clients who need my expertise.
Werk maak sterk!
16 Apr 2012, 07:53 am
Indeed Rob
Watsup Slarti. Suddenly my scarring has minimised too!
16 Apr 2012, 07:57 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-40:
Just pulling your sock, I heard you screaming all the way over here when he got injured…I felt your pain!
16 Apr 2012, 07:59 am
16 Apr 2012, 08:02 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-15:
I tell you whats disgusting, is you all blaming everybody else for your incompetent teams. Whether thats Super 15 to Internationals.
Every excuse.
You blame Kiwis for most of your losses. You blame tiredness and refs for your EOTY tours.
If no kiwis are around when you lose its POB fault.
When was the last time you have admitted that the Boks are not good enough to win their games?
All of the above is disgusting and cowardly.
Do yourselves a favour and pull out, cry in the NH. I am sure they would be happy to another whinging lot up there. You and England have alot in common in that department.
DISGUSTING
16 Apr 2012, 08:03 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-26:
are you from auckland, poppa?
16 Apr 2012, 08:03 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-34: With Etzebeth on the bench. Kokie and Elstadt did well when called upon. Malherbe still gives away too many needless penalties so it is risky starting him. I would still start Brok and bring Malherbe on. I would maybe start Deon Fourie and give Tiaan a rest. He is raring to go.
16 Apr 2012, 08:05 am
@Te Rangatira(Te Rangatira)-31:
Right on.
I dont know why these clowns do this.
We in NZ know that racism is everywhere. Not one country can say it does not exist.
Whats a shame is Fern here posting it and making him feel all good inside.
LOSER Fern
16 Apr 2012, 08:08 am
@greentea(greentea)-37:
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-43:
you are verminous cheats, this is the problem.
the problem does not lie with us, it lies with you.
16 Apr 2012, 08:14 am
The secret of winning the strompies is to get ahead on points , with their defence mindset game , they don’t know how to score from first phase. That’s the reason they can not score points when they have the advantage of 15-13 players
16 Apr 2012, 08:15 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-46:
Right, do me a favour and tell china that. He has been proclaiming for days now that there are ‘no more than a dozen’ racists in the whole of NZ.
16 Apr 2012, 08:16 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-45:
It might be a good idea to start a few “fresh” players on Friday as it will be a short 6 day (recovery) week for the Stormers while the Reds will be relatively fresh after their bye.De Kock seems to have lift his game and is playing much better than last year while I would also give Fourie a start at hooker (only worrying factor is his lack of accuracy when throwing into the lineouts).
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