Perspective required when rating Stormers
30 Jul 2012
JON CARDINELLI writes the Stormers’ campaign was compromised by a high injury count rather than a characteristic lack of composure.
The manner of defeat was disappointing, but was the result really that unexpected? This is the question Stormers fans should be asking following Saturday’s semi-final defeat.
It is usually the case that a team’s success is determined by how far it progresses in a particular tournament. For a regular play-off contender like the Stormers, a Super Rugby title win should denote success.
The Cape side has lost two finals and three semi-finals in the space of three seasons. Their title drought has spanned 11 long years. These are the numbers that critics and fans care about, and these are the facts that will be cited when most deliver their damning post-season reviews.
But to accept this view is to subscribe to a perception that is simplistic, narrow and more than a little hysterical.
I don’t believe the Stormers’ game plan and selections have been flawless, but I do believe the 2012 season has been different to those of the past.
It’s unfair to marvel at the manner in which the Stormers have responded to the challenges of the past five months and then denounce a play-off failure as just another in a long line of mental mishaps.
Indeed, what the Stormers have succeeded in doing this year is convincing a lot of people that they could survive without several key players. In reality, how can a team be expected to go on and win a championship when they’ve lost the quality of Schalk Burger and Duane Vermeulen? The Crusaders are always a less daunting prospect when Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are unavailable, and as the recent season will confirm, the Bulls are easier to beat now that Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez have moved on.
Every team must cope with injuries and losses, but the Stormers’ loose forward stocks were depleted to the point where they had lost their capable reserves as well as their stars.
Nick Koster and Nizaam Carr were ruled out, forcing Rynhardt Elstadt to move from lock to flank. Sanzar turned down the Stormers’ request to include Canadian Jebb Sinclair in the play-offs, necessitating Deon Fourie’s shift from hooker to No 8. Club players like Don Armand and Tyrone Holmes were also promoted to the greater squad.
The Stormers’ results may have convinced the rugby public that they were capable of absorbing the losses, and credit must go to the coaching staff as well as the youngsters for fueling that belief.
Eben Etzebeth, Steven Kitshoff, Siya Kolisi… these are the rookies who made it look so easy during the regular season; they convinced everybody that the gap between junior rugby and Super Rugby was really not that big. On Saturday, however, we were reminded exactly why experience is crucial in play-off matches.
Etzebeth was the exception in the semi-final, showing a temperament and attitude that belied his years, but the other youngsters in the Stormers side didn’t rise for the big occasion. As a result, the Stormers weren’t successful as a collective.
I’m not suggesting that the Stormers are absolutely without fault. I maintain that their kicking game is inadequate, and it was certainly a weakness in their most recent defeat.
Peter Grant has proved a match-winner in front of goal, but his line-kicking is not up to standard. Coach Allister Coetzee complained that the Stormers couldn’t get out of their half in Saturday’s semi-final, and Grant’s boot was partially to blame.
Usually this weakness is offset by the contributions of Dewaldt Duvenage and Joe Pietersen, but when those players don’t come to the party, the Stormers struggle to win the territorial battle.
The set piece is still an area of concern. Kitshoff has emerged as one of the finds of the season, but as a unit, that Stormers scrum has been too inconsistent. The lineout is not the force it was in 2010, as the hookers are struggling to find their jumpers. The much vaunted maul has also delivered an underwhelming showing.
While these shortcomings and areas of concern need to be addressed, there should also be some perspective. The injury situation has forced many forwards to play out of position, and the changes in personnel has often prevented the pack from settling, even if that lack of synergy has rarely been reflected in the results.
Somehow the Stormers managed to top the log with what they had, somehow they managed to convince many people that they had a shot at winning the title. And who knows, if they had won through to a home final, it may have been possible.
There are reasons to feel encouraged if you consider that Burger and Vermeulen will be back for the 2013 season and a number of youngsters will be going into their second season with plenty of starting experience.
While there should never have been an expectation to win the 2012 trophy following the loss of so many key players, there will be great expectations for the Stormers to go all the way in 2013.
For now, a little perspective should ease the pain that accompanies a play-off defeat. Fans and critics must also accept the fact that the Stormers were beaten by the most complete side in the tournament.
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249 Comments
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30 Jul 2012, 12:37 pm
@nama1-197: Not even against the pink Bulls.
30 Jul 2012, 12:46 pm
JC you sound like a nagging wife. They were kak and like I’ve said on a number occasion the last couple of weeks and the whole year for that matter, the leadership element is non existent in Province rugby. The old heads are not able to keep the young guns level headed ala Victor, Fourie etc did at the Bulls with great success.
This team will continue to struggle in finals until that is sorted. Until then don’t move to far away from the Kleenex.
30 Jul 2012, 12:48 pm
@ufo-196:
Good article.
Even though he won the 2 1/2 CC for them, many Cheetah supporter did not shed a tear when Rassie Erasmus left Bloem as they believed that he was responsible for their teams forward orientated tactics instead of their traditional running rugby while he was their coach.
One can only now appreciate how they felt when you look at the way the Stormers team played the last few years and compare it with the traditional way the WP/Stormers teams of the past played.
Yes, it brought a a final and two semi finals at home but really, we’ll need to tweak the game plan if not totally change it. We have the players to do it.
30 Jul 2012, 12:50 pm
@RefuGSpot-201:
That was the point I was trying to make.
30 Jul 2012, 12:52 pm
I am a little disappointed after reading that AC does not think that they need reinvention at the Stormers. There are things they did wrong all through the season – not just in the final. Duvenhage’s kicking is shocking and he insists on kicking away turnover ball. More often than not he either kicks the ball straight into the hands of the fullback/wing or he kicks it out directly into touch – as was witnessed on Saturday.
Peter Grant’s inability to clear effectively from within his own 22 is well documented. so why don’t they make use of Pietersen to clear from scrums/lineouts/rucks in that area? Thse are just basic little things that they needed to pay attention to, but I get the feeling that AC is very hard nosed and does not want to change things for fear that he might then prove that he was wrong in the past. The worrying fact is that the Stormers/WP have not even looked like winning any of their play-off games in recent times. It is not as though they lost games against the run of play or were realistically in the game with 10 minutes to go. There is a serious lack of mental preparation
30 Jul 2012, 12:54 pm
@nama1-203:
yeah… we do need some serious introspection and pragmatic analysis to change things… this strategy is clearly not good enough to become a dominating force in rugby…
and by dominating i do not mean winning more games… i mean winning trophies…
30 Jul 2012, 13:01 pm
@Couchcoach-205: 1st thing is that AC should be changed.
30 Jul 2012, 13:02 pm
@RefuGSpot-201:
818.sharks_lover: Reply to this comment
29 Jul 2012, 11:17 am
” you will see what i said today,, there will be 12 Sharks and 6 Stormers in the squad, they already know who they are”
821.sharks_lover: Reply to this comment
29 Jul 2012, 11:20 am
PSDT
Alberts
Daniel
Coetzee
Kanko
Doc Dup
Bismark
JPP
Beast
Lambie
Mvovo
Steyn
“This will be the 12 Sharks players in the Bok Squad a few weeks from now”
Who will the Stormers 6 be? I’ll go with:
JdV (capt)
Habana
Aplon (or will his size count against him?)
Etzebeth
Schalk
Vermeulen
Will you be a bit happier if the team includes these players?
That’s 18 players for the RC squad. How big is the squad going to be?
30 Jul 2012, 13:07 pm
@nama1-208: Bekker will be there.
30 Jul 2012, 13:08 pm
See how SL has Pieter-Stef du Toit as a bolter in the squad?
On what grounds really?
30 Jul 2012, 13:13 pm
@RefuGSpot-209:
Let’s see.
According to Tac, His Meyerness does not rate Bekker.
30 Jul 2012, 13:16 pm
@nama1-211: Neither do I my old friend. To inconsistent and has been shown up by weaker competition. Give me Eben any day of the week.
30 Jul 2012, 13:17 pm
@ufo-196: Afshak says “A positive mindset does not mean indiscriminately running the ball from your own tryline. It does not mean neglecting defence or a kicking game. The Chiefs, for example, have improved their defensive systems out of sight this season and added some bite to their pack. But they are still capable of scoring great tries, because they have a positive mindset.”
welcome to the club Afshak
he makes an apt example on the Chiefs and it is explained below exactly why…AC better learn this year as he clearly hasn’t from 2011
Chiefs bring more than defence
The mastermind behind the Chiefs’ standout defence this season, Wayne Smith, says the team’s success is based on more than just shutting other teams out.
Smith puts it down to the Chiefs’ ability to link strong defence with strong attack better than any other team in Super Rugby.
“I think the most pleasing thing is the connection between the attack and defence,”Smith said.
“So if you look at the stats we’re fourth best attacking team on the ladder and fourth best defensive team on the ladder, and there’s no other team close to that.”
In terms of points conceded this season the top defensive team were the Stormers, but they were only the 12th best attacking team in terms of points scored. The best attacking team, the Hurricanes, were only the 10th best defensive team.
“We’ve always looked at the challenge as being able to develop both, and often when you focus on one the other drops off,” Smith said. “We’ve had that now and again this year where we’ve put extra focus on attack and the defence has dropped off or vice versa, but getting that growth in both units together is pretty important.”
30 Jul 2012, 13:24 pm
@nama1-203: the game needs only tweaking not an overhaul, fire fleck or get carel, alan zondagh, poach hawies fourie or any backline consultant to restructure the team’s attack strategies.
for two years now AC has come out to say his focus will be defence, defence, defence and the stormers title hopes have come unstuck both times, a change of strategy is necessary!
30 Jul 2012, 13:24 pm
@Transformation-213:
any gap to introduce and stroke wayne smith…
isn’t that wayne smith poster on your bedroom wall getting a little sticky already…?
watch the blues play real rugby next season and show wayne’s world who the real chiefs of nz rugby are…!!
30 Jul 2012, 13:27 pm
@RefuGSpot-207: Stormers should get Mallett in the mix!
30 Jul 2012, 13:31 pm
@Skeppie-216: That would be huge.
30 Jul 2012, 13:32 pm
perhaps it’s worth reminding that at the beginning of the season… before any injuries… most ‘neutral’ fans on keo predicted the stormers would prop up the saffa conference… of course none of them will put up their hands now…
many stormers supporters, myself included, were hoping for a top-half-of-the-log finish…
despite weekly predictions from the stormers jeerleaders club that they would slide down the log… they did not…
so… all considered… stormers exceeded expectations this year…
we have plenty of young guns signed up for several years so will challenge hard in all comps…
of course this does not negate the disappointment of losing on saturday… nor the need for AC to change tactics back to the traditional WP running game…
30 Jul 2012, 13:36 pm
@RefuGSpot-217: I would hate it as a sharks supporter but it would be ideal for you guys. That Stormers side had some great potential….
30 Jul 2012, 13:41 pm
@ufo-218:
Agree 100%.
Said something similar yesterday.
30 Jul 2012, 13:47 pm
@Skeppie-216:
@RefuGSpot-217:
mallet WAS in the mix down here… and… quite frankly… did not add anything to it…
i still believe AC is the man to do it for us… and still back him absolutely…
i think the problem is he (and rassie) got caught in the boiled-frog syndrome in that when we began to be effective with our defense 3 years ago that slowly began to dominate everyone’s thinking to the point it became more and more of the focus…
hopefully this will jolt AC into seeing that we need to do things differently… and i believe he can and has the rugby brain to do so…
30 Jul 2012, 13:47 pm
@ufo-218: Phew I would have always has the Stormers there and there abouts, if anything they were probably more favourite than the sharks in my eyes. Either way the Stormers should be proud of their season, their win/loss ratio was excellent and thwy unearthed a lot of new talent, all that you guys need now is a tweaking of your gameplan.
30 Jul 2012, 13:48 pm
@nama1-220:
great minds (and diehard supporters…) think alike…!!
30 Jul 2012, 13:48 pm
@Skeppie-216:
He was there already. It did not end well.
Consultant? Maybe
30 Jul 2012, 13:49 pm
@Skeppie-222:
you certainly do great honor to that fine institution of the Sharks Supporter’s Club…!!
30 Jul 2012, 13:54 pm
@nama1-224: I can’t remember but wasn’t he director of rugby or something and not head coach?
30 Jul 2012, 13:55 pm
@ufo-225: But we sharks supporters are all fair, unbiased and two eyed aren’t we?
30 Jul 2012, 14:00 pm
@Skeppie-227:
nyukka nyukka nyukka…
30 Jul 2012, 14:05 pm
@ufo-221: Why can’t everyone think about all of this as logically as what you are?
Tweaks, not full scale demolition is the answer.
We need a Lions prop or 2
We need Visagie our Stellenbosch boy BACK from the Lions at hooker
A rugby league coach if possible to revolutionize our backline play (If not possible, a coach from Kiwiland. Or in fact ANYONE one who doesn’t think offloading and various other skills are overrated)
We need a mental coach.
And we need to stop hearing talk AFTER the game, around the hallowed halls of Newlands, of gleeful administrators who spent a week dreaming of the cash a home final would bring…..
30 Jul 2012, 14:07 pm
@Skeppie-226:
Yeah, he was DOR with that Van Der Merwe joke the coach.
Apparently all DOR’s are quite hands on wrt coaching their Super rugby teams.
People still credit His Meyerness for the 2009 and 2009 S14 titles of the Bulls instead of Ludeke.
When Stormers reached the final in 2010, some gave credit to Rassie and not AC.
30 Jul 2012, 14:13 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-229:
cause i’m pure rational genius…
just kidding…
yeah… guess the emotion and disappointment get’s in the way of straight thinking for a few days after such a hard loss…
but the guys will get their mojo back…
30 Jul 2012, 14:13 pm
@nama1-230: I see….I still reckon he could do a job for the Stormers though, not that AC is bad but I do think Mallet would be a better choice.
30 Jul 2012, 14:16 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged by Mad Eye Productions.-229:
biggest of all is we need a mental coach for sure…
and he/she should coach the coaches as well as the players…!!
30 Jul 2012, 14:26 pm
2009 and 2010 S14 titles.
30 Jul 2012, 14:35 pm
@ufo-215:
you can’t fault the logic though even if you tried hahahahahahaha
30 Jul 2012, 14:39 pm
@ufo-215: well JK has put his c.ock on the block, let’s see what he’s got
the incredabrain, rennie & strawbridge are in the final but that doesn’t count for jack if you don’t win it
30 Jul 2012, 14:40 pm
Mallet called Plon the human Speedbump.
I’m not sure he’s been forgiven for that.
30 Jul 2012, 14:45 pm
@Transformation-235:
@Transformation-236:
hehehe…
i’ll bet you a bottle of good red win that the blues will make the play-offs next year…!!
see… i’m no fence-sitter…
actually i really do rate rennie… didn’t know his name at the beginning of the season but has done a mighty impressive job with the chiefs…
@the artist formerly known as gunther-237:
he’ll be forgiven the moment he admits he was wrong…
a certain eagles album springs to mind…
30 Jul 2012, 14:47 pm
good red wine….
30 Jul 2012, 14:48 pm
@Golden Boy-193: Thx…
BTW, The Dynamite “BOOM!” (TM Heavens Game) seems to have exploded around the rugby blogosphere…
Its hard being right… and a lean, mean, meme machine to boot
30 Jul 2012, 14:56 pm
@ufo-238:
Bet transie a bottle of whisky rather.
30 Jul 2012, 15:03 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther-241:
why not…
TranSport…?
a good whisky…?
deal…?
30 Jul 2012, 15:53 pm
@ufo-238: you’re on!
30 Jul 2012, 16:21 pm
Get a tight head. Get Vemeulen and Schalk back. Get a back line coach.
30 Jul 2012, 18:49 pm
@Transformation-243:
hehehe
good stuff mcgruff…!!
will leave you to record the deal…
30 Jul 2012, 20:51 pm
Had their name engraved on the 4th place trophy for years. Give credit where it is due, they did it with more style thjs year.
30 Jul 2012, 21:06 pm
Heyneke has known for months what you all learnt on Saturday. A bunch of small guys cannot beat a bunch of big guys. Law of physics. Beef up and the results will improve.
31 Jul 2012, 10:38 am
I’m a massive wp supporter but the funny thing about this season has been that I’ve been very upset almost after every game and we won most of them. We just didn’t play rugby for 80 minutes once in the season, we would play maybe 20 to 30 minutes max and then just defend and kick possesion away.
It also looks like players like aplon and jdj have gone backwards under flecks coaching.
Grants to slow to be a running flyhalf these days and duvenague has got a terrible pass lately.
The worst thing is that we are doing the stormers brand damage with the type of rugby we are playing and I know everyone was saying its winning rugby but if we had won the currie cup and super rugby it would not of mattered but we didn’t so now we just a boring team with no trophies.
31 Jul 2012, 11:53 am
Mr C, your the only one who believes this BS! BMT is lacking and unless a strong leadership core is developed in Bulls mould the trophy cabinet will remain empty.
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