Stubborn Stormers will stumble
5 Mar 2013
MARK KEOHANE argues the Stormers problem is a defensive coaching mindset and not a lack of options in their pack.
Among the more astute and analytical rugby writers in the country is the Cape Argus’s Zelim Nel, who outside of being a fine fellow, is also a rugby coach.
He writes very differently to most who report on the game because he is more a coach who writes than a writer who coaches. I am always interested in Nel’s take on a match and he is good value. Do yourself a favour and get the Argus for his analytical pieces.
Nel, though, feels much of the Stormers try-scoring woes stems from vulnerability among the pack. He lamented an indifferent lineout that has lost its potency in the enforced absence of Eben Etzebeth and he wrote of the Stormers being an inferior collective when it comes to the pack presence.
The Stormers, in their two defeats, have struggled at the set phases. In Pretoria the lineout and scrum were poor and individually the players were second best in the collisions. In Durban the lineout was better but the players were again shaded in the collisions and the pack, in the scrum, were decidedly second best.
But I disagree with Nel that the primary reason the Stormers backs don’t function fluently is because of a poor pack effort. I think it has more to do with the predetermined plan that is all about defence and then thinks about attack.
The Sharks forwards are among the strongest in the tournament and there will be many packs the Stormers will dominate and yet I still can’t see them maximising scoring opportunities. I base this assessment on their tournament history in the last three years.
The mindset of head coach Allister Coetzee is too defensively orientated and the Stormers play with no risk and rely on defence to win matches. It has been a proven formula over a three year period in which they have won 80 percent of their league matches, but they’ve bombed in play-off matches when asked to show more than a defensive mindset.
Super Rugby is not Test rugby. Super Rugby requires more imagination than just making tackles.
The Stormers certainly have the players with the necessary attacking skill and where I disagree with Nel is that the pack is good enough. There have been occasions in the last three years when the Stormers have taken a more attacking approach into a game and scored tries but it has naturally resulted in them leaking more tries. One such occasion was against the Cheetahs and immediately there was criticism of their defence, and within a week the side reverted to type.
A side that places a premium on attack is going to be vulnerable to conceding more tries, but a side that only relies on defence can rarely sustain the defensive effort over a six month period.
Western Province, in the Currie Cup, played with more balance in attack and defence, but the quality of opposition was inferior the best sides in Super Rugby. What has impressed me about the Blues is the attack is not compromised by a desire to defend. It is possible to do both.
Coetzee and his predecessor Rassie Erasmus have restored credibility to Stormers rugby and they are no longer the soft touch or the show ponies of a decade ago, but there is a difference to fixing a side and turning them into champions. The Stormers are no longer the pretty boys of South African rugby, but they are now the most boring side in the tournament, the most predictable and the most pedestrian on attack.
There are fantastic individuals and the quality of player makes for a squad among the top five in the tournament. But the conservative mindset is doing the players a disservice. Watching the Stormers play is like watching Heyneke Meyer’s Boks on the end of year tour. Or like watching white paint dry on a white wall.
It doesn’t make for pleasant viewing and while Meyer will always be able to convince many that Test rugby is a different beast and that it is only about the result, Super Rugby requires a more liberal approach in which no team can win every weekend, so a win at all defensive costs mindset isn’t a winning formula on the field. It won’t seduce supporters either or fool them.
The Stormers will win the majority of their home matches and they will be miserly on defence away from home, but never in the last three years have I ever felt this was a team that would prove masters in the play-offs and I think it has to do with the approach of a coaching staff who play not to lose instead of playing to win with substance and style.
The Stormers are a side that won’t easily finish outside the top six but they are also a side that doesn’t inspire visions of winning the tournament and frankly, outside of 1999 when they played magnificent rugby and I thought they would win, I’ve never been convinced of them as champions.
They are a good side but to win this tournament you have to be very good, in attack and on defence.
463 Comments
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5 Mar 2013, 15:30 pm
@the curse-190: One bad Maori Muthafucker… Thats your HG, Pooper….
And never forget it
5 Mar 2013, 15:31 pm
@the curse-174:
He’s already written his defeat ( hate ) speech for their tour down under.
5 Mar 2013, 15:31 pm
@Heavens Game-196:
“doggy bender” ?
Ive noticed this phrase a lot in your posts lately
reminiscing back to your thai ladyboy friend?
just what words did she mutter in your ear at the moment of “doggy bending” ?
5 Mar 2013, 15:32 pm
@Heavens Game-196:
She’ll need the 14 beers in your case.
5 Mar 2013, 15:33 pm
@Heavens Game-197:
youd be roadkill to any maori sidestep bru..
the percy montgomery style of “theres the tryline bro”………let me step out of the way for you..
hehehe
5 Mar 2013, 15:33 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-185: In Thailand went for looking for le pu.ss.y passif but found a le coq sportif instead…
5 Mar 2013, 15:34 pm
@the curse-199: Yes… reminiscing about Poppa my little maori Ladboy cumdump…
5 Mar 2013, 15:35 pm
@Dawn-195:
yes, that’s right, the ovwhelming majority i will not.
save one or two Bulls matches, the Stormers 2nd shaming against the Sharks (call it ‘Jaws 2′) and a few Kings matches (because thats gonna be worth a quiet chuckle).
5 Mar 2013, 15:35 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-192:
Let me guess: You’re are targetting the Brumbies game for a win. The Brumbies outscored your boys 5 tries to 3 last year…at Loftus nogal and were very, very unlucky to lose that game.
Jip, I’d like to see your analysis for games 10 – 20 for the two teams.
5 Mar 2013, 15:35 pm
@Dawn-200: Give up flirting Prawny… I only do a full set of teeth, kay?
5 Mar 2013, 15:36 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-204:
Bakkies if you want a quiet chuckle tune in on Sunday when your boys get sliced and diced.
5 Mar 2013, 15:36 pm
@NZINCHINA-198:
“The Filthy Cheating Kiwi speech”
written by bakkies, all that is virtuous and proper, Keo Blogger.
Ladies and gentleman, let me first draw your attention to minute 3, second 46, notice the ref speaking to Rene ranger in dulcet tones and the smile they both exchanged, what more evidence do you need? “
5 Mar 2013, 15:37 pm
@the curse-201: Maybe… But definitely not for my little favourite Ladyboy called Poppa…
Fuckedit silly until it cursed me stukkend…
It sidesteps forever afterwards… Dont you?
5 Mar 2013, 15:37 pm
@Heavens Game-203: you sure do have a lot of love for us kiwis HG, you seem preoccupied with wanting to give it to me, and your manlove for Plum is legendary..
have you got any maopri in you?
seems youd like some huh?
5 Mar 2013, 15:39 pm
@the curse-209:
Yip his fellow countrymen are even telling him to shut up, you know the game is nearly up when that starts to happen.
5 Mar 2013, 15:39 pm
@nama1-155:
The rules of the competition dictates who is the best team. In SR to be champion you need you to, first, finish in the top 6 in the league phase, then win 2 or 3 playoff games.
The problem with league play is that teams rarely get the same level of opposition each week. And sometimes it’s not a matter of ability, rather attitude… The Lions for instance will beat the Sharks, then lose to the Force the next weekend. You get SA teams that go on tour and rest their best players against opponents they think they cannot beat.
As for winning a lucky few games, teams get lucky last minute wins in league play as well, the only difference is that the loses don’t get eliminated… Another problem with the conference is that some benefit from the luck of the draw.
Some teams go for months without 2 or 3 their best players, which could mean the difference between finishing on top and no 6. Others are hinded by coaches picking the wrong players in key position, like the Sharks did with Lambie for their first nine games last year.
5 Mar 2013, 15:40 pm
@the curse-211:
From my experience Zimbo’s are pretty friendly people.
5 Mar 2013, 15:42 pm
@NZINCHINA-212:
dont be too hard on him China, he does support the bulls after all, thats got to be a serious indication of not quite being right upstairs
5 Mar 2013, 15:42 pm
@the curse-211: Naah, I’m alright thanks… But many Maori’s Mums have had me in them…
A whole nation of Maori HG’s worldwide and Lower Hutt of course…
5 Mar 2013, 15:43 pm
@willievz-140: With the current combo of Jantjies, De Allende and JdV, it can only go one way. Both centres are essentially runners first and distributors second. Given Jantjies’ style of attack play where he goes across the field, rather than straight ahead, you essentially rely on either centre changing the angle of attack or try to break the defensive alignment.
5 Mar 2013, 15:43 pm
@mxhosa-213:
You believe then France were the 2nd best team on show in NZ at RWC 2011?
5 Mar 2013, 15:44 pm
@NZINCHINA-214: Ive not met too many, so will defer to your knowledge..
but yeah, being a zimbo backing another team from another country yet has the audacity to complain about those in the Cape who support the ABs??????
now wonder he sleeps with the ladyboys, one confused little remora is our HG..
5 Mar 2013, 15:45 pm
The Stormers have a lot of improving to do, but you can be sure that they will get better.
What that means for their championship this year is anyone’s guess.
That’s the way it goes. I for one will be holding thumbs and hoping it goes the right way.
5 Mar 2013, 15:46 pm
“Stubborn Stormers will Stumble?”
Did skopdiekan alliterate the headline?
**
dunnose ’bout this – kinda think the Stormers in with a chance …
5 Mar 2013, 15:46 pm
@Heavens Game-216: back to the same “joke” yet again?
hahahaha thanks Hg, now I know Ive got you beat..
best you put your head down, b.um up, pucker it tight and say Kob Khun Krap Boonsoon
5 Mar 2013, 15:47 pm
@the curse-219:
Yip a Zimbo’s who supports another country, funny stuff the way he carries on.
5 Mar 2013, 15:49 pm
@mxhosa-213: well said.
@nama1-218: in terms of the competition rules, yes.
5 Mar 2013, 15:49 pm
I see , you see it , everyflippenbody can see it except the powers that be at Newlands HO !!!! FFS !!!! Some tweaking of the pack would go a long way of fixing the problems , I would put Tiaan in if his fit , if not the Lions hooker ! Deon to 6 , Kolisi to 7 and Vermuealen at 8. Elkstad goes to lock with Bekker. Props stays the same for me.
Pack would be
Kitchkoff
Tiaan
Malherbe/cilliers
Bekker
Elkstad
Deon/Carr
Kolisi
Duane
Alternatively put Kolisi at 6 , duane at 7 with Carr at 8. I think the selectors are picking Deon on emotion due to him leading WP to CC glory.
Backline –
Groom
Janjies
Jean de Villers
?? Where is the youngster Du Plesis ?
Aplon or De ellende
Habana
Joe
5 Mar 2013, 15:50 pm
@Heavens Game-216: Nature wouldn’t be so cruel….
5 Mar 2013, 15:51 pm
@sparticus-225: 100% with you.
AC can be a stubborn fella.
5 Mar 2013, 15:51 pm
@sparticus-225: Carel’s laaitie?
At the sharks
5 Mar 2013, 15:52 pm
What’s a remora?
5 Mar 2013, 15:52 pm
@pompies2-195: definitley back Elton with a licence to thrill….
5 Mar 2013, 15:52 pm
@stormersboy-227:
I think AC is getting old
5 Mar 2013, 15:52 pm
@the curse-222: Scratch that itch Poops…
Keep scratching “bro”…
Just don’t have a tantrum and “leave” soon… This HG misses your “return serve” when you gone… (And your Mum, of course)
5 Mar 2013, 15:52 pm
@NZINCHINA-223: classic isnt it?
I bet the ladyboy loves him though, he does try so awfully hard..
Boonsoon calls him boom-soon, apparently because he lasts about as long as it takes to say the name..
5 Mar 2013, 15:53 pm
@sparticus-225: JP Dup is still injred, hurt his back, April at the earliest.
5 Mar 2013, 15:53 pm
@grant10-230: Unfortunately Toeties is risk averse, so skop en jaag it is. Tekkel jouself in jour moer, dan sal ons wen.
5 Mar 2013, 15:54 pm
In all the excitement, let’s not forget that the Stormers were also the most boring team in Super Rugby in 2012. No side scored fewer tries or conceded fewer tries than the Stormers. If you want to watch some skop en jaag, Newlands is the place to be. And the Stormers are great travelers, maintaining their high standards of mind-numbing boredom on the road. Keo has just cottoned on to the worst kept secret in rugby: Stormers fans are insomniacs.
5 Mar 2013, 15:54 pm
@the curse-233:
He’s just big bek man.
He puts
at the end of every post
5 Mar 2013, 15:55 pm
@Dawn-229: its a parasitic fish that lives off sharks.. perfect fit I thought
@Heavens Game-232: still with the mother jokes? eish HG, Ive been told you were good at this type of windup thing?
apparently Fern is mistaken, which one of the two of you pitches and which one catches? or do you guys switch hit?
now I know why your name is HG, ****.sexual Guy
very clever the way you reduced it to two letters bru..
5 Mar 2013, 15:56 pm
@the curse-233:
A SAFFA wannabe classic alright.
5 Mar 2013, 15:57 pm
@the curse-233: Of course you love me Poops…
One night in Bangkok made this hard HG humble…
It was all you… You tricked me, you naughty little Fa’afafine you…
5 Mar 2013, 15:57 pm
@the curse-238:
Speaking of Fern where is he, I hope he didn’t have another car accident.
5 Mar 2013, 15:57 pm
@Dilligafrican-228: No not him , thats Jean Luc I think and he pays flyhalf , I am talking about JP , he played for the Stormers off the bench last year and previously played in Aus league. Was picked straight from craven week.
5 Mar 2013, 15:57 pm
@NZINCHINA-239: for the first time in my life I empathise with our Saffa friends on here..
imagine having HG proclaiming to be a SA rugby fundi, when hes not even Saffa..
bew di ful indeed.
“fizzle” ? hahahahaha
5 Mar 2013, 15:58 pm
@NZINCHINA-241: I think hes down at the dam, apparently he “sleeps with the fishes” and I dont mean he dies if you catch my drift
5 Mar 2013, 15:59 pm
@the curse-243:
Well that took you long enough
We been suffering him for years
5 Mar 2013, 15:59 pm
@Heavens Game-240: true, what did you do with the refund I gave you? didnt seem right taking so many baht of you for 30 seconds work..
5 Mar 2013, 16:00 pm
@kaksioek-236: The Stormers remind me of the Waratahs a few seasons ago , one have to check the record books to realise they actually contested a semi or two cos you cannot remember one lekka bit of play from them for the whole season !!
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