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, 11:33 am
Andrew Mehrtens once gave the Loftus crowd the double handed jolly roger after dropping a goal to score the wiing points while playing for the Crusaders.
The Cantab fans lapped it up by and large.
Weird folk live in Christchurch!
16 Apr 2012, 11:34 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-135:
……………………………….(concerning Popps).
“you’re being no different to cane and china”
Exactly, Popps don’t like whining posters from the Republic of Whingers any more than Old China or Myself.
16 Apr 2012, 11:35 am
@cane(cane)-149:
okay cane… i’m mistaken…
perhaps you could tell us what his gestures was all about… after just having had words with the ref…?
he didn’t have to be facing the crowd… all eyes were on him…
but it’s exactly the gesture that is almost universally used when an athlete or pop star is trying to get a crowd going…
perhaps he was telling his players to pull up their socks…?
16 Apr 2012, 11:35 am
I am going outside to cup my ear to the West.
I’ll be back.
8)
16 Apr 2012, 11:35 am
@c.unt(cane)-152: How does it feel, being so receptive… and open?
16 Apr 2012, 11:36 am
@cane(cane)-149: Yea Cane I didn’t think he was gesturing at the crowd…personally thought he might have been trying to fire his guys up. i can’t see that crowd noise would influence a decision any way.
16 Apr 2012, 11:37 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-150: As long as the refugees are prevented from sneaking in….
16 Apr 2012, 11:38 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-131:
Reid is a hero of Poopsies.
I reckon they have chowed from the same pie more than once.
More concern should be the brass band that started up behind peter grant when he was lining up that final penalty.
And that was only for a losong bonus point.
God alone knows what the Hobbitsers would have pulled had it been for the win.
Fireworks?
A fly-by from the New Zealand Airforce.
A flash haka behind the posts?
16 Apr 2012, 11:38 am
@ufo(ufo)-127: It was disgusting I agree! Its one of the reasons I refuse to watch soccer nowdays because of all the diving and winging I sincerely hope that rugby does not degenerate to that!
16 Apr 2012, 11:39 am
@Brads(Brads)-151:
Merts had to pay several thousand dollars for the privilege, if I recall correctly.
16 Apr 2012, 11:40 am
Yip,
still a low whine on the wind coming over the Pole.
16 Apr 2012, 11:41 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-158: “flash haka” :lol
that is hilarious.
and the kiwis reckon that makes them look tough i suppose.
imo its a bit like a bunch of hippies wearing tie die and prancing around to a joan baez song in the middle of gateway.
it is evidence of a certain lack of perspective.
16 Apr 2012, 11:41 am
@ufo(ufo)-153:
he looked like an Orc trying to take off in a strong headwind.
16 Apr 2012, 11:41 am
@cane(cane)-152:
thats the spirit cane, show us you’re as filthy and classless as your rugby players…
16 Apr 2012, 11:42 am
i hope we never emulate the disgusting behaviour of the kiwis.
sportsmanship? they dont even understand the meaning of the word.
their crowd and bandofknobs behaved like roundball yobs, nothing new.
16 Apr 2012, 11:43 am
@Sharksgirl(Sharksgirl)-159:
yeah… i don’t watch soccer now too for exactly the same reason… even though liverpool has finally made the fa cup final again…
and sadly… i believe rugby is going down the same slippery path…
rugby used to be hard… even brutal… but ‘fair’… this insidious ‘sportsmanship’ creeping into the game should be addressed sooner rather than later imo….
16 Apr 2012, 11:43 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-155:
Liberating Pigsy,
liberating.
The truth never hurt anyone.
16 Apr 2012, 11:43 am
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-157: Dit is somtyds nodig om die koring van die kaf te skei.
16 Apr 2012, 11:44 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-163:
he does look orcish
16 Apr 2012, 11:44 am
UFO I missed them… Sad about it…
16 Apr 2012, 11:44 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-163:
hehehe…
he did too…
16 Apr 2012, 11:45 am
i mean seriously, a can thrown at burden as he scores and then a kiwi band trying to put a kicker off?
all in one weekend?
must be the superrugby title drought.
things fall apart.
16 Apr 2012, 11:47 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-165: I agree with you on that point.Hopefully Shark supporters will lay off the whiskey and leave Frans Steyn in peace on his second coming.
16 Apr 2012, 11:47 am
@pakslae(pakslae)-81: Not cool , Cane is a friend here at Keo and I for one enjoy his views on Rugby !
Re the game , Stormers were good Saders were better. End of story. Some negatives include – We still kick way to much ball away , our halfbacks are sadly not up to the level required. Our loosies are still unbalanced and lack pace. Our backline play contunie to improve but we wayyyy off the pace. Injuries to our locks which we ALL knew was gonna happen as they play too much rugby and especially considering the way we play as we make probbaly twice as many tackles as everyone else. Refs in general are just poor and soon it will influence results more. I dont think he was bias , just k@k poor. Both yellows were riculous.
Some positives , our young props again showed mettle , I do remember one scrum that was not good for them but I think we were down a man then. Habana continue to show a big fat up yours to all his haters. Hurdles aint nogals a bad winger. I take back what I said about De Kock , he is a capable lock. Peter Grant maybe not the best option as general but his goal kicking remains great. He has great nerve. We showed that maybe if we try a little harder and play more positive that we can chase a game and lastly 100% concentration throughout the game where previously we faltered round about the 50th min mark.
All in all , a great game , little mistakes and it felt like a test match unlike the Lions/Bulls game which was very dissapointing from a skills level perspective. There was sooo much mistakes in that game and the Lions simply are not good enough at this stage. Steyns kicking is also a worry. Back to the Stormers game though , the pace and precision of the Saders were awesome , they play a very similar game to how the Bulls played when they want to and how the Stormers want to play. The diffs is halfbacks , their general is far ahead of the pack. Anyone who says they dont need to look at the stats , at halftime the kicking stats were like 31/32 for the teams. Saders kick just as much as we did except much more intelligent.
My 26 cents anyway
16 Apr 2012, 11:47 am
@Atreides(Atreides)-156:
Suppose we never know Atreides.
8)
16 Apr 2012, 11:48 am
to be fair reid is ten times the 8thman that duanne vermeulen is.
for one thing, he is able to fall back like a real 8thman and field kicks unlike carthorse duanne.
and he can like to catch a ball unlike spoes the ploes.
but willem will make him cry like a girl.
16 Apr 2012, 11:49 am
@sparticus(sparticus)-174:
Ooooh, I missed that one,
I better go back and read the fan mail.
16 Apr 2012, 11:49 am
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-169:
a word in your shell like Bakkies.
Caner is one of the good Orcs.
Now I know a decent Kiwi is a rare and precious thing.
Which is why we should protect our investment.
16 Apr 2012, 11:49 am
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-173: well considering the treatment of luke at newlands i would suggest you pullyerheadoutofyerarse.
16 Apr 2012, 11:51 am
so cane… c’mon…?
you obviously saw ‘the reid dance’ (although not as cool as the south african ‘reed dance’…)
tell us what you think he was doing…?
16 Apr 2012, 11:52 am
agreed with all the above, cane is a champion.
not a very gifted assasin though judging by the fact that the keo dwarfs are still posting after caners unsolicited gift during the wc.
(
16 Apr 2012, 11:53 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-179: We always treat our players with dignity and respect they deserve.Luke was a favourite on the terraces.
16 Apr 2012, 11:53 am
The fan mail was for Hurricane.
8)
Thank goodness, to have pakslea and Bakkies on my case would too much.
Dumb and Dumber.
16 Apr 2012, 11:54 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-181:
Caner drank the wrong bottle.
He has never been more than 3 feet away from the ******* ever since.
16 Apr 2012, 11:54 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-179:
Hi Ranger,
just some other issue… Have you heard of the kiwi called William Trubridge?
Just check this, if you have not seen it before … but watch the whole thing… the viz gets better near the end.
Farkin amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrXQbucZUDA
16 Apr 2012, 11:57 am
@Robzim(Robzim)-185:
hey rob… another tangent while you’re here…
can’t remember who did… but saw a post sometime on the weekend that tim swiel has been signed by wp to play for the vc cup side…?
good news…
16 Apr 2012, 11:57 am
@rangerman(rangerman)-176:
Vermeulen was massive on Saturday. Totally outplayed Reid, kiwis and saffa commentators agreed. The strength of the man is incredible.
On current form far better than Alberts or Spies.
16 Apr 2012, 11:59 am
@ufo(ufo)-180:
As Atreides pointed out, he could have been trying to “lift” the effort of the Stormslayers. Using the upward motion with the arms.
I suppose we’ll never know, unless he decides to tell us.
16 Apr 2012, 12:02 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-187: Maybe stronger but sadly also far slower.
16 Apr 2012, 12:03 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-182: k u k man, ther oke was nearlyu booed out of newlands by stormers fans.
just because he said rugby was run by du t ch me n.
surely du tc h me n run a few things in sa like absa and the mines and maybe even rugby?
16 Apr 2012, 12:04 pm
@cane(cane)-188:
jaaaaaaaaaaaaa boet….
16 Apr 2012, 12:06 pm
@Dazzler(Dazzler)-187: sorry bud, carthorse.
didnt see him tracking back at all.
@Robzim(Robzim)-185: will check it thanks. youtube “tuna vortex” and then check the same okes vids. there is one where he freedives for over 4 mins i think.
some okes are incredible seriously.
16 Apr 2012, 12:07 pm
We need to sweep clean before our own doors before trying to force the broom into another’s hands.
.Habana gets abused in Bloemfontein.
2.Percy gets abused at Loftus
3.Whiskey-fuelled Sharks supporters abuse their own player,Steyn
4.Delinquent Bulls fan attacks Mealamu
5.Irish ref gets attacked at Kingspark
Interesting to note where all these incidents took place.As the saying goes,you can’t buy class and rugby heritage.
16 Apr 2012, 12:07 pm
@ufo(ufo)-186:
That’s very good news- i saw him in action during a warm up game against the amateur side in the beginning of the season- huge potential at no 10 and 15- the sooner the better.
I see the vodacom side is also scraping through game after game- still undefeated mainly due to the boot of karlkakillis.
Interesting to see that Boland beat the Sharks in Malmesbury- i read in the newspaper they had a crowd of 7000 watching the curtain raiser between two club teams but the overwhelming majority left before the main game started. Strange times?
16 Apr 2012, 12:09 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-178:
yes, i do know he’s a special project and is worth saving. its just his ****** responses wrt the can throwing incident really pissed me off…after all that he had to say about kevvy getting bottled and after all that the bulls did to right the wrong…
at the end of the day he’s still a keewee.
16 Apr 2012, 12:10 pm
@stormerforlife1(stormerforlife1)-193: cute.
but luke was abused, we all saw it, at newlands.
and the ref getting attacked was by a huge beer swilling bulls fan.
16 Apr 2012, 12:10 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-178:
Too be fair Gunna,
I did piss a few people off on Saturday.
(But only after I had read 250 posts of Ref Whining).
Bakkies has my respect. He will eventually sobber up.
And…………………………….. I thank you, (and Dangerman), for your kind, if somewhat misguided words.
16 Apr 2012, 12:12 pm
look with Wakefield president WP & Stormers rugby will fall hard! they will go the same route as EP did 15 years ago! so if Stormers don’t win the Super Title this year, they never will.
16 Apr 2012, 12:13 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-195:
smiley face
16 Apr 2012, 12:14 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-194:
yeah… knew you’d like that…
i just hope he’s more robust than gary van aswegen has (sadly) proved to be…
that is a bit strange… great to see the support for local clubs… but you’d think they may as well have stayed for the main game too…
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