Bekker’s tall order
25 Apr 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes that Andries Bekker will need to outplay Nathan Sharpe at the lineout if the Stormers are going to claim the set-piece ascendancy in Perth.
In the pre-season, the Stormers would have identified the fixture against the Force as the easiest of their four-match tour to Australasia. As it’s transpired, the Force have struggled as the season has progressed, and to make matters worse their coach has quit in the middle of the competition. You wouldn’t expect them to trouble a team near the top of the log.
However, what would have been targeted as one of the Stormers more comfortable wins has suddenly become a big ask. The Stormers will travel to Perth without Schalk Burger or Duane Vermeulen. Eben Etzebeth is in doubt, and the latest news is that Nick Koster has a serious knee injury and will return to South Africa.
Nizaam Carr is expected to replace Vermeulen at the back of the Stormers scrum. It will be of some consolation that the front row remains intact, and coach Allister Coetzee will be hoping for a strong showing at this set piece.
What Coetzee will be less certain about is the impending battle at the lineout, as the Stormers will field a new combination and will be up against one of the game’s legends in Nathan Sharpe.
In Bekker and De Kock Steenkamp the Stormers have two fine lineout exponents, but they will miss Vermeulen at the tail. Rynhardt Elstadt has played a lot of Super Rugby in the second row, and may be asked to play a greater role at this set piece.
Despite languishing near the bottom of the log, the Force boast one of the better lineouts in the competition. In Sharpe they have one of the world’s best individual jumpers and lineout managers, as Victor Matfield himself has claimed on more than one occasion.
The Force are extremely competitive at the breakdown, and again they boast one of the world’s best in David Pocock in this area. Even in their depleted form, the Stormers should brace themselves for another scrap at the rucks and collisions, although if they can gain set-piece ascendancy it will make their task at the breakdown far easier.
Bekker is going to be crucial in this regard. If ever the Stormers needed a massive performance from the giant lock, it is in Perth this Saturday.
Bekker needs to ensure that the visitors win their own ball cleanly, but he also needs to disrupt Sharpe and company. If he proves successful, it will have a knock-on effect and deny the Force front-foot ball. If the Force are denied clean ball at the lineout, it will cut down their limited attacking options.
The Stormers have been far from consistent at the lineout, and were guilty of numerous errors in last week’s match against the Reds. Many of these mistakes were on their own ball, as they failed to secure possession in great field positions and in one instance sent a throw into the grateful hands of James Horwill just metres from their own tryline.
The latest bout of injuries mean the Stormers will field a new forward combination this Saturday, and so there is a chance that they will struggle for synergy at the lineouts yet again. It will be interesting to note how Bekker responds to this challenge, how he rallies his troops as a leader and how he fares as an individual jumper.
The lineout is one of the few weapons the Force have in their arsenal. The Stormers need to nullify this threat if they hope to win what is an important game in the context of both their tour and season.
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102 Comments
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25 Apr 2012, 11:54 am
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-47:
Hehehhe – At least you did not say Kiwi chicks….to set off another incredibly tedious anti Kiwi tirade!
I like Kiwis, Aussies and Saffas, it is the French I struggle with!!
25 Apr 2012, 11:57 am
Happy ANZAC day fellows.
25 Apr 2012, 11:57 am
@carol(carol)-51: kiwi, aussie – is there a difference? oh yeah, i forgot – kiwi chicks are the ugly ones. or is that aussie chicks – i never can tell….
25 Apr 2012, 12:00 pm
@carol(carol)-51: french chicks? they can’t be all bad – they coined the phrase “menage a trois” after all
25 Apr 2012, 12:10 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-54:
Speechless…..
Round 1 to the peanut gallery
25 Apr 2012, 12:13 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-54: Which, incidentally, means “household of three”.
25 Apr 2012, 12:15 pm
on a different note im glad there has been no keo tv this week, not keen for my ears to bleed over vredes voice again
25 Apr 2012, 12:19 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-53:
Hehehe, Aussie giirls are cool.
Kiwi’s? … well ummmm, well.. if you like reddish hair …….but then again they have Rachel Hunter.
Crowded House, Rachel Hunter, the Mount Everest bloke, Peter Snell, Lydiard, Josh Kronfeldt, and the great Richie McCaw….. they not a bad bunch.
How is the mountainbiking going?
25 Apr 2012, 12:20 pm
@carol(carol)-51:
We like you too Carol.
( big pink heart).
25 Apr 2012, 12:20 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-56: yes, strictly speaking it does, but there are a lot of things 3 people can do together in a household….
25 Apr 2012, 12:23 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-58: fookit, that’s a short list of great kiwis.
mountain biking is going great thanks. greatest sport in the world imo. doing a trip to the himalayas later this year – 11 days of singletrack overload…can’t fekkin wait.
25 Apr 2012, 12:28 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-61:
I could extrapolate on that list if you so desire peanut.
Staring with:
The Flight of the Concords,………………………………..
8)
25 Apr 2012, 12:33 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-61:
Lol, I can add a few more like freediver william trubridge but let me not act as a kiwi promotion agent.
For me it’s surfing and then Mtb’ing— nothing else comes close.
himalayas sounds amazing- u must enjoy- it will only be Majik forrest, durbanville winefarms and some Knysna trials for me this year sadly.
25 Apr 2012, 12:33 pm
Sir Ernest Rutherford.
Buck.
Helen Clarke.
Billy T. James.
Popps.
Brycie.
Kevin Skinner.
Marty Johnson.
The Tackler.
………………………….etc
25 Apr 2012, 12:34 pm
@cane(cane)-62: please do
25 Apr 2012, 12:35 pm
I hope AC plays du plessis at center and not use poolman and keep habana at center. What would be the point of taking du plessis with in the first place then?
25 Apr 2012, 12:37 pm
@cane(cane)-64: Paddy o’Brien 8)
25 Apr 2012, 12:37 pm
@cane(cane)-64: ah got you. tickles is a jarpie.
25 Apr 2012, 12:40 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-63: nothing wrong with majik, conters and hillcrest – my local as well. don’t know knysna trails at all.
25 Apr 2012, 12:42 pm
@cane(cane)-64:
You forgot Jake “the Muss” Heke.
Greatest bar fighter ever.
25 Apr 2012, 12:46 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-70:
Unfortunately Jake was only an Actor.
We could use a mother like him at 6 for the AB’s.
25 Apr 2012, 12:48 pm
Tiger’s ex-caddie.
Kelleher’s girlfriend.
The muppet song guy.
All shapes and sizes in New Zullund.
25 Apr 2012, 12:51 pm
@cane(cane)-71: Saw a clip on Rugbydump the other day with highlights of the Toulon/Castres game. Chris Masoe plays for Castres these days and he had an absolutely bruising blinder. He could have been your Jake the Muss.
25 Apr 2012, 12:51 pm
Some NOT so great NZers:
Mitch.
&
Plum.
But they are sucking up rands like vacum cleaners.
(they have to, it’s like sucking up dunny paper).
25 Apr 2012, 12:56 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-73: \
Chris was an “O’ for Awesome Hurricane.
I still love him,
even after the “handbag” incident with that thug from Wainuiomata (Tana Umanga).
8)
25 Apr 2012, 13:06 pm
Maybe the greatest Kiwi of them all.
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are you ready for this:
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.are you sure!
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.you are not going to like it.
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You can still change threads, and pretend you are still superior;
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last chance..
8)
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Christian Cullen.
fck me,
did he slice your lot up like Jamie Oliver dicing onions.
or should that be Anton Oliver crushing onions.
8)
25 Apr 2012, 13:10 pm
@cane(cane)-76:
Christian Cullen was a pleasure to watch, even while he was busy decimating your team’s defenses.
25 Apr 2012, 13:13 pm
@cane(cane)-76: Whichever Oliver, he was a Cullenary delight.
25 Apr 2012, 13:16 pm
@cane(cane)-75:
Tana was a master of all weapons.
Taught through schooling at Parkway college.
25 Apr 2012, 13:22 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-78:
There are a lot of blunt knives on Keo.comedy. za
And mine is not exactly the keenest.
But yours young man……………………………………
is a razor.
8)
25 Apr 2012, 13:25 pm
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-79: \
I was trolling Hurricane.
Thanks for doing me the honour of a reply. ( I thought Tana was Head Boy at Scots College)
25 Apr 2012, 13:29 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-77: \
Cullen was as good on defence as he was on attack.
Maybe better.
25 Apr 2012, 13:35 pm
@cane(cane)-81:
Cane, you know when you put the wainuiomata hook out there, you will only catch one fish on here
Nice catch i must say, but throw him back now.
He was at Parkway college all the time i was there.
Mind you i left in 6th form, he was 4th form so he may have left after that.
Its interesting reading things about Tana on the net, especially Wiki. It is so wrong.
On there it said he started playing rugby in 1994. Actually he started playing rugby before 1984, i have the team photos to prove it
25 Apr 2012, 13:41 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-77: yup, as much as you didn’t want the boks to lose, you almost wished cullen would set off on one of his weaving runs. pure magic he was.
25 Apr 2012, 13:49 pm
@Hurricane(Hurricane)-83:
Off the Rugby Field, I have only ever seen Tana once.
In Countdown in LH.
I said to my son …………………………………………..” that Dude eyeing up the Wheatbix is the AB’s Captain”
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Tana went with the Store special.
Wheaties.
And so have we ever since.
8)
25 Apr 2012, 13:59 pm
I think Bekker should not take line-outs if they are going to maul it. Think this is what makes his back issues worse because of his height. Maybe get your 4 to take maul line-outs and he the normal one’s. He might prolong his times on the field for this game.
25 Apr 2012, 14:05 pm
@cane(cane)-85: I bet he was stuffing things in his handbag when no one was watching.
25 Apr 2012, 14:07 pm
@cane(cane)-59:
Traitorous punk
25 Apr 2012, 14:12 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-87:
Well I was,
I figured ………………………….WTF ……………………………………….If Tana’s here,
No body will be watching me.
25 Apr 2012, 14:16 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-87:
you can hardly blame him.
there was a 2 for 1 special on foundation and mascara.
25 Apr 2012, 14:25 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-90: No, that’s the other one.
25 Apr 2012, 14:29 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-91:
All these emos look the same to me.
25 Apr 2012, 14:33 pm
@cane(cane)-89:
still amazed that a small place like piec ock could produce cullen
a lot like despatch producing danie gerber and frans erasmus.
25 Apr 2012, 15:15 pm
@the peanut gallery(peanut)-41:
gentleman Uli
still the greatest Bok to wear the number 2 jersey.
25 Apr 2012, 15:39 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-94: Agreed. Bismarck the closest I’ve seen since him.
25 Apr 2012, 15:49 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-94:
Now you are talking!
25 Apr 2012, 15:50 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-94:
Dr. Uli
If business was slow, he played an extra physical game and whola! A new patient!
25 Apr 2012, 16:26 pm
@Kleuter(Kleuter)-97:
haha
think many people misunderstood his compettive and aggressive nature on the field. A hooker with skill sets ahead of his time.
25 Apr 2012, 16:31 pm
@greatest13gerber(greatest13gerber)-98:
For sure, his skills and speed was unheard of for hookers back then.
25 Apr 2012, 19:30 pm
Bekker needs to step up his BMT. Although this is not a “big” game as such, he has almost always been bested when it mattered.
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