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, 08:20 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-47:
Oh so the Boks have no problems? lol
Just let it go. You having problems with admitting the boks are not as good as you think or want them to be.
16 Apr 2012, 08:24 am
I thought the Stormers did quite well when they actually tried to use the ball and not try to kick it away. Unfortunately 90% of the time they tried to kick it away. Must say I have not rated Van den Heever but he has impressed me on Saturday. Stormers other problem was that they have given the Crusaders far too much penalties!
Steenkamp and Elstadt has actually done very good at lock.
16 Apr 2012, 08:25 am
@Fern is not a stud,he is merely no19(Fern)-27: Its just not realised as a problem to discriminate anyone who isn’t Chinese, its just the way it is. Mandarin Chinese are the best, then other regional Chinese are the lower or middle class. All other Asians should rightfully be their slaves. Japanese and Koreans are civilized but also enemies, whom they have a mutual respect for. White people are barbarians. Indians are smelly and vile and completely untrustworthy. Black people are the lowest of the low and aren’t even human. However money will completely change the way Chinese people will appear to them if you have a lot of it. Very bad to lose “face” and very good to make money!
THESE ARE NOT MY VIEWS! it is a generalization of what most mainland Chinese people think of other races and nationalities. There are many Chinese people who do not have this view, but they are most definitely in the minority….
16 Apr 2012, 08:25 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-49:
Thats fukn stupid and dont believe it.
I am sure China is just pulling your leg.
Racism is everywhere. NZ has it, OZ is full of it. In fact probably the most luckiest nation to get away with what they have in the past.
But what i dont like is people like fern posting something like racism problems in NZ, yet SA are still one of the worst countries around for this.
He needs to grow up.
16 Apr 2012, 08:26 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-51:
with all the camera evidence to prove what it was i love the way your media labels it an ‘object’ hahaha
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10799168
rather late on the story too dont you think….as per expected….
we’re not low cheats..big difference…
16 Apr 2012, 08:28 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-34: Thanks Rob. I guess it was bound to happen at some stage (Bekker getting injured). I guess now we’ll see what the squad is made of.
I think it’s not a bad idea to rest Eben if he’s not 100%. He’ll be critical in the weeks after we come home, as we have some tough games coming up.
16 Apr 2012, 08:29 am
Well still alot to do , great win time we got on track , need the win on sat v the Hurricanes …. a 5 point win will put us into 2 nd on the log ( kiwi log) …. now the comp starts to get exciting.
16 Apr 2012, 08:30 am
@capebull(capebull)-48:
With only 5 minutes to go we were still kicking the ball away, we seemed scared to just run the damn thing from within our own half, playing right into Carter’s hands.
But great to see Habana slipping defenders more frequently for a change, I felt from the start that we’d miss Aplon and so it turned out as he is the only one likely to run a kick back and find the gaps as well.
16 Apr 2012, 08:32 am
@stew(stew)-57:
When is McCaw returning, wonder if they’ll keep Carter at 12 again?
16 Apr 2012, 08:32 am
Can someone explain why the Burmbies are in 3 rd place on the log table ????
16 Apr 2012, 08:33 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-55:
Huh?
So we are talking about the can that was thrown?
IT happens as you guys have proven a week before this game.
What i am getting at is your lack taking blame.
You called us ” 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.”
As well as yesterday we were scum etc.
If anyone on here has a problem, you are it.
I dont ever go down that road. I have alot more respect for South Africans.
You have little for Kiwis, therefore you have the problem….no one else. Now fix it.
16 Apr 2012, 08:36 am
Looking at the log, the Sharks are sitting quite pretty at the moment.
They have completed their tour, and are only 7 points behind the conference leaders.
The SA conference is going to have a tight finish, I reckon.
16 Apr 2012, 08:37 am
Stew thats the “advantage” of the conference system!!
16 Apr 2012, 08:38 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-61:
wow! how far is your head stuck up your asss…..
you make little to no sense in that post.
16 Apr 2012, 08:38 am
@stew(stew)-60:
Because the SA and Kiwi negotiators bent over for John o Neil when the S15 format was devised.
An Aussie team is always guaranteed a top 3 spot now, as conference leaders, which was not a case when the proper tournament – known as the S14 – was still in place.
16 Apr 2012, 08:39 am
a = the
16 Apr 2012, 08:41 am
Ai tog
16 Apr 2012, 08:42 am
The Stormers were bound to lose a game on tour and losing to the Crusaders is probably better than losing to the Reds. So maybe Allistair should’ve thought about resting some players for the game.
I must admit, I first thought that New Zealand refs were bias but from what I see they are simply not up to standard. It would be a compliment to them to call them bias.
The Stormers need to learn that to win overseas, you need to score tries. I am not sure what Robbie Fleck is teaching the backline but we haven’t seen one set piece move from the backline. Everybody sort of just stands around and hope individual brilliance will charge something. If you want to win overseas, you have score tries and the backline needs to be clever.
16 Apr 2012, 08:42 am
I thought the stormers were always going to lose this one; winning 6 in row at this level will nearly always result in injuries and fatigue (injuries that definitely came to the fore early on in this match.)
Added to the fact that the crusaders were pumped to win in front of a home nz crowd looking to turn around previous loses abroad.
A couple of observations that I’ve been pondering on for a while now.
You can see the crusaders are full of ab’s by the way they play with these two common tactics. Front-foot passes that are either straight or slightly forward; and the way they fall/flop around the opponent’s side of the ruck/maul when tackling making it difficult for the opponent to gain traction over their offside bodies.
They play (one could almost call it cheating intelligently) to gain advantage and more often than not get away with some very close calls. When a team appears to have the upper hand in a match the ref will nearly always call in their favour, creating a R.A.W. (ref assisted win.)
This is not to take away other aspects of their game which is very good; I just wanted to highlight these few points.
South African coaching staff really needs to look hard and close at what these teams are up to and build effective counters to these moves that have been in their style of play for a long time now.
P.S. bulls supporter, not stormers.
16 Apr 2012, 08:43 am
@Dawn(Dawn)-67:
i am sorry dawn but they have to be put in their place from time to time.
16 Apr 2012, 08:44 am
@nicsm(nicsm)-69:
Cheating intelligently? I just call it cheating.
16 Apr 2012, 08:44 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-64:
So what dont you get?
The name calling of late from you about all kiwis suggest you have a problem.
I am on my iphone, you will get those in SA soon, so excuse me if i miss words and letters from time to time.
Now if you dont understand what i am getting at then leave it.
But carrying on with your childish views really makes you a sour little poster.
As said, you have little respect for Kiwis. You have probably never met one.
16 Apr 2012, 08:44 am
The Crusaders weren’t that ruthless. If they were then losing two of the inform locks, playing a hooker as flank, a weakened scrum should mean 50 points to be ruthless. To win by 10 points and outscored 2 tries to 1 is not ruthless.
16 Apr 2012, 08:46 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-70:
You have put no one in there place.
lol thats just stupid.
16 Apr 2012, 08:57 am
I am pondering what the best backline for SA should be. My thinking is:
15.) Frans Steyn
14.) Bryan Habana
13.) Juan de Jongh
12.) Jean de Villiers
11.) Francois Hougaard
10.) Johan Goosen
9.) Fourie du Preez
16 Apr 2012, 08:58 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-54:
I do think china is taking some serious stuff so maybe that explains it…anyway, rather than showing the worst in every country, and like you say we all have a little of it, why not look at the positives…
New Zealand’s recorded crime rate is at its lowest in 15 years, but police say there is more work to be done.
Statistics released today show there were 406,056 offences recorded between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011, down 4.8 per cent from the previous year.
The main contributor was Christchurch with a fall of 22 per cent, followed by the Southern District with 13 per cent, Northland with 10.5 per cent, and the Bay of Plenty with 5.6 per cent.
Auckland City and the Waikato were the only two districts that saw an increase with 8.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively.
Care of an old friend and stuff.co.nz…
16 Apr 2012, 09:00 am
I stand by intelligent cheating. If it was just plain old common garden variety cheating they’d be caught out on it more often (by all nationality of ref’s.) It is a tactic they have studied and used for quite some time now, it is effective and is working for them. We as south african’s don’t seem to be subtle enough to use this technique effectively so must come up with counter measures that work for us. A point in case is when the french forwards rucked richie mccaw out from the other side of their ruck/maul, I didn’t see him there again for the rest of the match. I know rucking is illegal but it definitely works, he shot out of there like a scalded cat.
16 Apr 2012, 09:06 am
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-73: After the hype of the Stormers fans before this game , i can understand that a lesson was needed – and the first try by De Jongh was luck so the score could have been by at least 15 points – the much vaunted Stormers pack was brought down to earth …. yes i am happy with the result !
16 Apr 2012, 09:07 am
@wpstormerbok(wpstormerbok)-59: Looks like McCaw will be back in training this week – the most intelligent cheating player on earth ! MCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCAWWWWWWWWWWWW
16 Apr 2012, 09:08 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-76:
Nice mate
16 Apr 2012, 09:16 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-80:
Aaargh Hurricane, go fck a sheep… Why don’t you go back and comment on your thesilverfern website. Your comments mean fckall to us.
Do you expect us to bow down before you because you said so? Get a life…
16 Apr 2012, 09:21 am
@stew(stew)-78:
If you take into consideration the average age and experience of the Stormers pack the All Black laden Crusaders pack should’ve made mine meat out of them but that didn’t happen even after their two best players left the field. When someone says to me a team was ruthless, I expect it to be a convincing win. That was anything but…and they were on homeground.
16 Apr 2012, 09:22 am
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-75: You cannot have a back line without Aplon in it plus Habana is past his sell-by date. Mine:
9. Hougaard (allowed to play his natural game and NOT made to play as a FdP clone)- shift to wing in the 2nd half and bring on Duvenhage
10. Lambie (he needs an extended run there- Goosen off the bench)
11. Le Roux
12. Frans Steyn
13. Jaque Fourie (we need the experience)
14. JPP
15. Aplon
OR
9. Hougaard
10. Goosen
11. Aplon
12. Lambie
13. J Fourie
14. JPP
14. F Steyn
Bench: JJ/ Le Roux, Mvovo, JDJ
16 Apr 2012, 09:24 am
@RugbyStudent(RugbyStudent)-82: Agreed but after we threw the game at Loftus we really needed this one to get basck on track
16 Apr 2012, 09:28 am
Or to keep to the quotas: Movovu for Le Roux- I am happy with that.
16 Apr 2012, 09:30 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-76: Christchurch i can understand.Natural disasters have a way of correcting societal imbalances.
16 Apr 2012, 09:37 am
Crusaders got a lucky break with the sinbin of Elstadt.We were building nice momentum at that point ,a point even admitted to by the one-eyed kiwi commentators.To use the words ‘ruthless’ and ‘free lessons’ are pushing it a bit.
16 Apr 2012, 09:42 am
@stew(stew)-84: didnt throw the game, it was the fithy scum saffa ref that caused that loss, along with the out and out fabrication of eye-gouging…
scum..filthy ones
as for the stormers, gifted a try by carter AND scored one off of a blatant knock-on…(barely gets a mention here, must be because it defies the whole cheating ref theory)…
must be horrible for their players seeing so many ghosts on the field, how do these “Africa’s not for sissies” players manage it when the tokoloshe is obviously out to get them?
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-87: and the stormers didnt with the first half yellow card the Saders were pinged for? both cases were a penalty at best…
16 Apr 2012, 09:45 am
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-72:
yes but you do too little to be respected.
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-74:
stearing the conversation away from the topic and its deplorable facts nicely hey….
keep it up, kiwi…
16 Apr 2012, 09:57 am
Let’s not be negative…
Stormers are looking good… pity about Bekker.
16 Apr 2012, 09:57 am
@pakslae(pakslae)-81:
Your a real piece of work.
Where did i say bow down to me. Show me where?
As for your sheep comments, these show the little intellect you have.
Dont bother replying to me until you learnt to drive and have been taught to fold your own pyjamas youngster.
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-89:
Look here, i am not even talking about the can throwing episode.
Thats like last week, a week after the can was thrown at a kiwi in SA.
All i am on about is your hate towards all Kiwis, trying to understand why you think all Kiwis are scum.
Can you at least answer that?
16 Apr 2012, 10:06 am
stew
I personally wouldn’t be proud of a player that cheats no matter whether he’s someone I supported and admired or not (it’s embarrassing to watch and difficult to justify) but that’s your call.
16 Apr 2012, 10:08 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-88: Fair enough,but i am only referring to the fact that the Stormers started to gain momentum just before that sinbin.Read ‘lucky break’ in the context of that statement.Don’t use it as a starting point to start an unnecessary brawl on here.
16 Apr 2012, 10:08 am
@nicsm(nicsm)-92: you mean like this?
http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2009/07/02/1225745/081620-irb-vow-to-qipe-out-eye-gouging.jpg
16 Apr 2012, 10:14 am
@poppa69(poppa69)-88:
hey douche bag – let’s not also mention the “hands in the ruck” that let to the Sader’s first (& only try)…
16 Apr 2012, 10:17 am
Nothing changes I see, the same old same old.
McCaw is still a cheat, NZ refs are cheats.
Yawn
16 Apr 2012, 10:17 am
funny how the Stormers were the only team being penalized for being off-sides but I counted many occasions where the Saders were off sides + when they fell on the wrong side of the ruck + went off their feet at ruck time and were not penalized.
I’m not saying the ref cheated – I’m just saying that he was poor. IMO the ref (Pyper) in the Bulls v Saders game cheated and gifted the Bulls the win. given a neutral ref in that game and the Saders would have won easily.
16 Apr 2012, 10:24 am
@brains_trust(brains_trust)-97:
I thought the Bulls could easily have won by a way bigger margin, the two late tries made the score look way better than the Saders were on the day…
16 Apr 2012, 10:26 am
I haven’t looked at your link but I’ll say exactly like that.
Here’s another sa example, bakkies headbutting jimmy cowan.
Cheating is not justifiable wherever and from whatever standpoint.
It leads to a denigration of the game as a whole which starts a moral unravelling process that just begets further justification to cheat in whatever form.
16 Apr 2012, 10:28 am
@brains_trust(brains_trust)-97:
Come on, the way you lather it up, it makes it sound as if the stormers were robbed blind.
The count was 10-8 against the Stormers. Hardly a one sided or even outrageous count against the Stormers.
I have watched matches where one side has received 18 penalties on their own.
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