Stormers face scrap for survival
14 May 2012
JON CARDINELLI says the injury situation can only worsen for the Stormers in the next three weeks and fans should brace themselves for at least one loss.
Coach Allister Coetzee’s worst fear was realised on Saturday when No 8 Nizaam Carr hobbled off the field. The log may not reflect the fact, but Carr’s knee injury has plunged the Cape franchise even deeper into crisis.
The Stormers will be without Schalk Burger and Nick Koster until the end of June, and may have to make do without Duane Vermeulen for the rest of their campaign. It was hoped that they could survive this four-game stretch without conceding further injuries, and that Jebb Sinclair would play a supporting role to the incumbent loose trio of Siya Kolisi, Rynhardt Elstadt and Carr.
But with Carr joining a lengthy list of casualties, Sinclair will be thrust into the starting line-up. It means that Coetzee will also have to promote a loose forward from the Western Province Vodacom Cup team, as apparently there are no other experienced players available.
When asked whether he would seek further help from abroad, a despondent Coetzee replied, ‘Who? Do you have any names for me?’
It was a statement that explained the recruitment of Sinclair. The Stormers had failed to acquire the services of Springbok flank Francois Louw and presumably failed to acquire other high-profile players with unbreakable club commitments.
Outside of Sinclair, a Canadian who plays his club rugby for London Irish, there aren’t many players with a gap at this point of the season.
Saracens enjoy a good relationship with the Stormers, and it was suggested after their recent exit from the Premiership semi-finals that some of those players may be available. Saracens hooker Schalk Brits did after all play loose forward for the Cape side when they were similarly afflicted last year.
But Coetzee’s response didn’t inspire any confidence of a Saracens forward flying to the Stormers’ aid. It is likely that the Stormers will have to make do with what they have until Burger and Koster return at the end of next month.
It’s a massive blow, and you’d have to say they’d do well to stay in contention for a home semi-final. They may have lost only one game to date, but because they haven’t scored four-try bonus points their position in the top six is far from secure.
They need to keep winning to stay in contention for that crucial home play-off. It’s going to be a tough ask with a depleted pack, even more so considering the demands of looming forward-oriented contests against the Waratahs, Sharks and Bulls.
It will be nothing short of amazing if they manage to win their next three matches, two of which are away from home. It will be incredible if they can come through these inevitably brutal physical clashes without losing more players to injury.
They will also hope that the Highlanders and Chiefs do them a favour by beating the Bulls and thus preventing the Pretoria side from extending its lead at the top of the South African conference.
Two defeats for the Bulls will allow the Cape team to stay in touch despite their own (and here I say probable given their depleted stocks) losses in the next three rounds.
The Stormers have a slightly easier run-in to the play-offs than the Bulls with matches against the Lions (home), Rebels (home) and Cheetahs (away) scheduled for after the June Tests. The Bulls will host the Cheetahs and Lions, but face a difficult trip to Durban.
The Stormers will be boosted by the returns of Burger and Koster for those matches, but they won’t want to leave themselves with too much to do in terms of securing a home semi-final. They need to survive the next three matches without conceding further injuries, and they also need to pick up some crucial log points.
A win against an inconsistent Waratahs side this weekend is non-negotiable, as away victories in Durban and Pretoria for a depleted Stormers side seem far less likely.
Follow JC on Twitter
Follow SA Rugby magazine on Twitter
475 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] 9 10 » Show All
14 May 2012, 14:21 pm
@ufo(ufo)-337:
So can i then say that the Sharks was 4 times better than the Stormers this past weekend?
14 May 2012, 14:22 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-347: at the moment they have both won 9 games????
14 May 2012, 14:24 pm
@Sharkie10(Sharkie10)-339:
I’ve said from the start that the Sharks are the big threat in our conference.
Especially given all the home games they have left.
The Bulls can lose 2 games and still stay above the Sharks – since I’m sure we’ll pick up one or two bonuspoints even in lost games.
But the Stormers are in a slightly worse position, with only a 9 point gap and a crappy points difference.
If the Stormers lose 2 and the Sharks win everything, the Stormers may well be pushed to 3rd spot in the SA conference. Especially if they continue missing out on 4 try bonuspoints – and no sign that that is changing.
14 May 2012, 14:26 pm
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-335:
I see the Brumbies and Rebels as the next best thing in 2013. Both camps have a positive team vibe and the effect is obvious. Management wise the Brumbies are obviously on to a good thing.
That’s the White winning ways mentality. There is another good thing that South Africa has lost to the advantage of foreigners.
14 May 2012, 14:26 pm
And if the Blues can manage a huge upset against the Saders this weekend and the sharks manages a bonus point win they can move into 5th with still a bye to come, they will actually be really close to the Stormers and just behind the the Bulls (also still has another bye i think) But from here on in the Sharks still have a realistic chance off finishing top or second at least. Taking in to consideration they still need to play both the Bulls and Stormers, taking victories there will really have them hunting down top spot. What a comeback that would be after a shaky season thus far.
14 May 2012, 14:27 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-350:
hehehe…
i hope we do meet the Crusaders…
i believe we can beat them… especially with both teams having all their best players available…
14 May 2012, 14:28 pm
@Mr Black(Mr Black)-351:
according to rugby365…
indeed you may…
14 May 2012, 14:29 pm
Whats that sound…?
14 May 2012, 14:30 pm
BOOM!!!
14 May 2012, 14:30 pm
@ufo(ufo)-356: yep, injuries hurt you when you played them in NZ, but I still think they have your measure… just..not too many of the Saders players are in good form imo..
14 May 2012, 14:30 pm
…Dynamite!
14 May 2012, 14:31 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-353:
Why are you so concerned about the Stormers? Worry about the Bulls mate. I worry about my team and what happens happens. Are they such a threat to your precious Bulls? I agree with you though. I think the Sharks could well beat both the Stormers and the Bulls. I also think the Bulls could just lose both their games in NZ. But thinking isn’t what counts now does it…
14 May 2012, 14:31 pm
Black and White farken Dynamite…
14 May 2012, 14:32 pm
@Sharkie10(Sharkie10)-267:
See 195
14 May 2012, 14:38 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-360:
yeah…
jokes aside… they are an unbelievably consistently good team… but win or lose would like to meet them again… otherwise we’d always have ‘lucky we didn’t meet them’ tag…
good to see richie back and at his best…
but i fear for dan if his groin doesn’t come right… i don’t think he’s the biz at 12… (maybe because of his groin)… and think they should rather rest him and let him get fully fit…
i think tom taylor has been excellent…
14 May 2012, 14:39 pm
What’s that sound? POP………..POP…………..Sharkies going pop against the Cheetahs
14 May 2012, 14:42 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-362:
Problem with the Sharks is they will somehow manage lo lose against the Lions, thats how their season has been.
Frustrating stuff.
14 May 2012, 14:42 pm
@Bill Reyts(Gumboots)-362:
Big game for the Bulls this weekend.
Just like the last one, and the one before that.
Competition is so tight.
14 May 2012, 14:42 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-360: Crusaders could learn a trick from Hurricanes
JUSTIN MARSHALL Last updated 05:00 14/05/2012
OPINION: Just before the Highlanders-Hurricanes match, I was bailed up by a passionate female Crusaders fan who told me I was being too harsh on my former team.
It’s sadly been a regular theme for me concerning them this season.
Maybe I’ve been leaning reasonably hard on the Crusaders so far this season.
This fan – and a few others – were letting me know that they were aware of it, and that my comments weren’t helping the team.
I know where those fans are coming from. And maybe I’m a hard marker as let’s face it I do care about how they go and don’t want to come across as biased. But I just told the lady the truth – that I have been stating the obvious.
The Crusaders were fumbling their way through the round robin stages, albeit still winning. Even their most loyal fans must admit they’re not their usual rhythmic selves. Why? They’ve lost their patience. They’re panicking and making far too many errors through lack of composure.
And I was saying all of that before the match against the Rebels. It was always going to come unstuck sooner rather than later – and it did in Melbourne.
I don’t take any pleasure in pointing that out. In fact, it pains me. I’m a Cantabrian. I want the team to win just as much as the lady who fronted me in Dunedin.
And the blokes running the squad are my mates. I socialise and play squash often with Darryl Gibson and Todd Blackadder and consider them good mates.
But I’ll tell you one thing – they know just as well as I do that it’s not happening right now. I firmly believe that’s why they tried to change things up by tinkering with the starting lineup and leaving the likes of Kieran Read, Andy Ellis and Israel Dagg on the bench.
It wasn’t arrogance as some people have suggested. Those guys have had a big workload. So the coaches would have been looking to revitalise a few things with their starting XV.
Unfortunately, Read and Ellis have become such vital cogs in the Crusaders machine that without them the team simply lacked composure. The good news for my lady friend and the Crusaders is that their problems are solvable.
Patience is the key. They’re in too much of a hurry to do things. They want to score within six or seven phases, instead of the Crusaders of old who, if necessary, would go 15 to 20 phases in the opposition red zone.
They’re pushing too early, trying to get there too quickly. It’s not a skill problem, it’s an execution one. Take your time and work together with equilibrium.
Ironically, the Rebels did a “Crusaders” on the Crusaders. They won the war of inches, and therefore the war of attrition. They were patient and broke down their opposition.
This year’s Crusaders model is trying to get ahead of itself. They need to rediscover their work ethic and patience.
It’s a lesson Mark Hammett is driving home at the Hurricanes where he appears to be finding fertile ears within his young squad.
Respect for the ball and doing the little things right are important for the Canes because they typically end up on the wrong end of key statistics.
It was the same against the Highlanders in a cracking game.
THE CANES lost every key stat – possession, territory, minutes with the ball, breakdowns won. But they used what ball they had with maturity. So they were always giving themselves a chance to win the war of attrition this match was always going to deliver.
And then, bang. Julian Savea busts open the match – just like the Canes of old.
Just like I felt this match would be an arm wrestle, I also suspected it would be decided by a burst of individual brilliance. The Canes had more of those individuals. They are a dangerous team, nicely building.
This was the match the Highlanders had to win to keep their season on track.
The TMO didn’t help them with a controversial decision and then a blatant foot in touch minutes later when the Canes scored.
Had the Highlanders won, they had every chance of kicking on from here. Now I fear it is a bridge too far. Sadly, Jamie Joseph’s side is now in danger of missing the top six playoffs.
14 May 2012, 14:45 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-347: We have won the same amount of games as the Chiefs unless you are counting the byes also as games won.
14 May 2012, 14:52 pm
Latest news
Please can someone tell me about a No 8 that maybe we can approach and use. I am all ears,” was Coetzee’s challenge to the assembled journalists after his team’s 16-14 Newlands win over the Cheetahs.
Some of us did offer names. Now that they have had their northern season ended, Saracens names naturally figured high on the list shouted out. Former Stormers players like Schalk Brits and France based Joe van Niekerk naturally featured, and so did former Lions No 8 Ernst Joubert. That is short term.
On a more longer term basis, looking ahead to July, Coetzee looks set to take the advice to get Pieter Louw back involved again. Louw lost his contract at the end of last year after injury prevented him from building on the momentum picked up in the early part of the 2011 campaign (he was part of the Stormers team that beat the Bulls at Loftus last March).
“I have spoken to Pieter and he is eager to play again and he was planning to return for us in the Currie Cup. He explained to me that he is busy setting himself up in business and that is why we couldn’t draw on him earlier, and he would obviously need to go on a big conditioning programme before he could play again. So he wouldn’t be an option for the next few weeks.
“But given the problems we are having at loose-forward, I think I will approach him and ask him if he is prepared to maybe be available for us during July, when we play three league matches after the June tour window. The thing about Pieter is that he has experience of playing all three positions in the back row.”
14 May 2012, 14:54 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-353: Every possible permutation lies before us
14 May 2012, 14:55 pm
@Jonck(Jonck)-371: Good news. P Louw is good. Did he decide to stop playing or did WP not offer him a new contract seeing that he wanted to set up a business venture.
14 May 2012, 14:56 pm
Stormers love a scrap. Bring it on!
14 May 2012, 14:59 pm
@Jonck(Jonck)-371:
good news… and thanks for posting it…
great to get some clarity on questions many of us have asked…
thank you…
14 May 2012, 15:06 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-352: haven’t the Chiefs lost twice already?
The Stormers only once?
14 May 2012, 15:08 pm
Higginbottom to Rebels?
14 May 2012, 15:12 pm
rebels gonna be THE aussie team… the cool aussie team…
guess they’d be the Stormers of Australia…!!
kudos to willievz for picking them over the crusaders…
14 May 2012, 15:15 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-376: Yes but the Chiefs played 11 and Stormers played 10.
14 May 2012, 15:16 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-377: for real?
14 May 2012, 15:19 pm
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-379: Ok got it.
14 May 2012, 15:21 pm
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-373: I don’t think the business venture played any part in the decision. At the end of last year it was said that his contract was not renewed – end of story. I think it (the loss of a contract) made him go into business. Unfortunately Pieter had a few nasty injuries and could not produce enough “good games” to ensure a renewal of his contract. It would be great if he can return though
14 May 2012, 15:22 pm
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-381: sharp. Chiefs guaranteed 4 points this weekend.
14 May 2012, 15:23 pm
@CharlesM(CharlesM)-382: i see. thanks. Yes underrated player.
14 May 2012, 15:25 pm
353 actually the Sharks are only 5 points behind the Stormers whose points reflect 2 rest days as opposed to the Sharks1.
So One more bonus point win for the Sharks and a loss for the Stormers and we could be into ”Watch us next year ”again time for the perennial trophy bereft,
14 May 2012, 15:26 pm
This is turning out to be a watered down Super comp with all the big names not playing due to injury, so who ever wins it are really not the champs.
14 May 2012, 15:28 pm
preach it mad eye
this bunch of queens are getting way ahead of themselves
14 May 2012, 15:30 pm
wanderer if you do not have depth it is your own problem.
14 May 2012, 15:30 pm
@mad eye(mad eye)-385: But the stormers have a game in hand and with the best win loss ratio in the comp you would have to back them to bag the points. Nice try. Back to the drawing board though, Wile. E. Coyote.
14 May 2012, 15:30 pm
If this if this but that but that
14 May 2012, 15:31 pm
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-389:
Dont waste your bandwidth
14 May 2012, 15:32 pm
I get the feeling the Stormers already regard this season as a success, regardless of what happens from here on. Even if they lose all their remaining matches, the past two months have been the best two months of their lives and they’ll treasure those memories forever.
14 May 2012, 15:32 pm
@Wanderer(Wanderer)-386: No logic to that comment whatsoever.
14 May 2012, 15:33 pm
@Wanderer(Wanderer)-386: Like the Lions are not CC Champs?
14 May 2012, 15:34 pm
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-353:
…IF the Stormers win everything, they’ll more than likely end up on top of the overall log.
…IF the Bulls lose their next five games (a real possibility), they’ll end up not making the
play-offs.
…IF the Sharks lose 4 of their next 5 matches, they’ll not make the play-offs.
…IF …IF…IF…IF
Spare us your “IF’s”
14 May 2012, 15:34 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-392:
hehehe
meow…!
14 May 2012, 15:34 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-392: lol
14 May 2012, 15:35 pm
@nama1(nama1)-395:
Yay
I already said that
14 May 2012, 15:36 pm
Stormer in a Teacup,more of your games have been at home,where recently you have been winning them by only a few points, with no bonus points.where as the Sharks at home is a normally a comfortable 5 point win.
Most of the Sharks games are at home and guess what yours are away.
14 May 2012, 15:37 pm
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-380: apparently he is mulling it over, unless it is he new negotiating tactic in brisbane – remember genia to force (which the reds ceo announced it without genia & force knowing anything)
shrewd aussies
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [8] 9 10 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.