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, 16:01 pm
@nama1-218:
Yes they were. If not them, who was?
5 Mar 2013, 16:01 pm
@the curse-238: Oh dear… you hurting me now Poops…
Maybe I just should stripmy moer, hate all Maoris and post everything I can find, in my powerless victim state of mind, about what a horrid, terrible nation you are
Maybe I also find a juicy sob story too about a “death”… seems to work, hey
I’ll post a few pics too as proof…
5 Mar 2013, 16:01 pm
@the curse-243:
A Zimbo running a big chip telling SAFFA’s how the game should be played, oh dear.
5 Mar 2013, 16:02 pm
@Heavens Game-232: c’mon chap, leave the moms out.
5 Mar 2013, 16:02 pm
@the curse-246: You gave me a freebie… You were desperate
5 Mar 2013, 16:03 pm
@sparticus-247: The amazing thing is that they took one half of the Bulls’ blueprint and still call the Bulls one-dimensional!
5 Mar 2013, 16:03 pm
@Heavens Game-249: you do that HG, but make sure you dont post pics of Boonsoon, not sure she wants to be reminded of one night in small bangkok..
5 Mar 2013, 16:03 pm
@the curse-244:
Ha I didn’t know about the fake death thing I’m looking forward to asking him about it.
5 Mar 2013, 16:05 pm
@stormersboy-220: People should cut the Stormers some slack.
They lost two games against two of the better sides in the tournament.
Away from home.
5 Mar 2013, 16:06 pm
@Dilligafrican-251: Your hypocrisy is… sniff, sniff… touching
Casting first stones and all that…
Please consider… or just scroll by… This is a little domestic itch my little Ladyboy Poops needs to scratch… She’s very emotional at the moment and is trying to prove some sort of “return serve” point…
But she seems to forget that she “served first” in the first instance…
Otherwise fuckrightoff… Okay?
5 Mar 2013, 16:07 pm
@Dilligafrican-251: all good bru, its his fallback, get out of jail type of thing..
the mere fact hes continuing tells me hes floundering, flailing even..
to me, Poppa, hes losing and knows it badly..
5 Mar 2013, 16:07 pm
@the curse-254: Boonsoon your new name now… Fark me, that one night must have cursed you, eh?
5 Mar 2013, 16:08 pm
@willievz-256: Yes and they were well off their best, so hopefully things will improve soon, I am not losing a huge amount of sleep yet.
5 Mar 2013, 16:08 pm
@NZINCHINA-255: its why I call him Lazarus… he who was raised from the dead.. its almost as funny as HGs manshe admission
5 Mar 2013, 16:08 pm
@Heavens Game-257: don’t recall ever dragging anyone’s family into anything…..that’s just poor form
5 Mar 2013, 16:09 pm
@Heavens Game-257: but you paid me to “serve first” remember?
you had that wistful, boy in a thai back alley gleam in your eye, how could I not?
5 Mar 2013, 16:10 pm
If…
Jantjies kicked the penalties.
Aplon caught the cross-kick.
5 Mar 2013, 16:10 pm
@the curse-258: Now this is farken funny
BWAAAAAAHAAAAHAAAAHAAAA
Tears to my eyes laughing…
Sheezus lol…
Poops you are one farked up funnyfucker
5 Mar 2013, 16:10 pm
@the curse-261:
Chris t I missed that as well, manshe what??
5 Mar 2013, 16:12 pm
@willievz-264:
Will they beat the Chiefs Willy.
5 Mar 2013, 16:13 pm
@NZINCHINA-266: HG admitted, on this very blog, that he did the nasty with some ladyboy in Thailand while he was there..
his own words..
so for all these years, when hes said he’d get in trouble with the Banshee, its really been a Manshe he was referring too..
as Seinfeld said “not that theres anythign wrong with it”
5 Mar 2013, 16:13 pm
@the curse-263: Poops… you too much…
Hahahahahahahahaha
I wish I could convey how much I am chuckling….
Bro, for your own sake, you need to take things a little less seriously
Funny fuckedup Maori, you
Hoo ha
5 Mar 2013, 16:15 pm
@the curse-268:
Oh dear lol
5 Mar 2013, 16:16 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-193:
Since you don’t wanna give me your analysis of the Bulls, I’ll give you mine:
Week 1 – 3: Played 2, won 2: points 9;
Week 4 – 7: Play 4, win 0: points 1;
Week 8: bye – 4 points;
Week 9 – 12: Play 4, win 4: points 18;
Week 13: bye – 4 points;
Week 14 – 16: Play 3, win 1: points 5;
Week 18 – 20: Play 3, win 2; points 9;
Total played: 16
Total won: 9
Toatal points: 50
Will it be enough?
5 Mar 2013, 16:16 pm
@Heavens Game-269: ahhh denial, the circle is complete, my job here is done..
ka kite ano
p.s say Hi to boonsoon for me
5 Mar 2013, 16:16 pm
So Fern died in a car crash and his running mate from Zimbo took one in the backsid e in Bangkok from a lady boy.
5 Mar 2013, 16:17 pm
@nama1-271: the Bulls record in NZ is appalling
they have won 6 games
lost 31
drawn 1
throughout super rugby..
5 Mar 2013, 16:18 pm
@NZINCHINA-273: now we know why they stick together, excuse the pun
5 Mar 2013, 16:19 pm
@NZINCHINA-273:
And the hump each other’s legs
5 Mar 2013, 16:19 pm
@the curse-275:
Too funny – I’m out as well cheers mate.
5 Mar 2013, 16:19 pm
@Heavens Game-232: Reverting to dragging decent folk’s relatives into your trash can?
Bad form my little interweb warrior. Very bad form. Even for you.
@NZINCHINA-250: Indeed, HG is not a Saffa. How I wish the same applied to a few others.
5 Mar 2013, 16:19 pm
They
5 Mar 2013, 16:19 pm
@Dawn-276:
That too
5 Mar 2013, 16:20 pm
@Dilligafrican-262: I dont know why I or you think I have to justify myself to you….
Poops has a history of rather disgusting posts on this site, which are related to a rather unstable persona… And my “harsh” engagements with the fool are related to these said posts… I have long since disengaged until now where Keo’s very own professional victim has decided that he has some sort of “payback” or some such with yours truly….
Now, before you put Poops on his victimhood pedestal regarding our little interaction and your ignorant one sided singling out of me “dragging anyone’s family into it”, just ask Pooper what he means “Manshe”…
Bearing in mind of course that Banshee is a jokey term I use for my Wife on Keo…
(Now of course a Wife is family, no?)
5 Mar 2013, 16:21 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-278: Read 281, you little self righteous tart
5 Mar 2013, 16:21 pm
@NZINCHINA-267: They have to.
5 Mar 2013, 16:22 pm
@the curse-272: Hi Bonsoon
5 Mar 2013, 16:23 pm
@willievz-264: Precisely. The Aplon one was also a sitter.
5 Mar 2013, 16:25 pm
@NZINCHINA-273: You Sheepshaggers are funny today
Loving the “settling scores” stuff…
Grudges like Sicilians…. Hehehehehehehehehehe
5 Mar 2013, 16:25 pm
@the curse-272: Boom too soon? Oh dear. Orange juice spat out on screen now.
@kaksioek-253: We don’t mean one dimensional in a gameplan sense. We mean one dimensional in an intellectual sense. IOW – thickasplanks. Lots of breadth, zero depth = plank.
Only kidding Bakkielooloo…..sort of, maybe, not.
@Dawn-276: Not legs. Ankles. The lowest…..
5 Mar 2013, 16:26 pm
@NZINCHINA-267: The result isn’t as conclusive as most would think. The Chiefs are fairly comfortable favourites, but their record vs the stormers isn’t that great.
5 Mar 2013, 16:26 pm
@Heavens Game-281: so youre upset because I call your wife a manshe? he’s still alive though isnt he?
now whose playing the victim huh?
classic.
truth be told, I think your manshe is the victim in all this… hahaha
5 Mar 2013, 16:27 pm
@Dawn-276: Like you and Doggy sit on eachother’s faces, no?
Toothless + Emo = Fishpaste
5 Mar 2013, 16:28 pm
@jacoshark-18: i definitely know what you mean, staying in Cape Town and supporting the Sharks is like juggling fire blindfolded one simple bad move you make or say about their beloved Stormers and you’re toast I don’t even want to start on their delusional belief that this is the best team in SA their fans do need a dose of defibrillation on their system.
5 Mar 2013, 16:28 pm
@Heavens Game-282: I have never and will never drag a persons direct family into any of WHATEVER it is I wish to get across here.
I’ve had ample opportunity, but I leave the smut to fella’s like Tyrone and co, who enjoy that type of thing.
As I say, call me whateverthefuckyouwant, but no need to bring folk who don’t even know you exist into it?
That’s me though.
5 Mar 2013, 16:28 pm
@pompies2-288: I agree with your assessment, shame these two teams never met last year..
should be a great game, contrasting styles and approaches…
5 Mar 2013, 16:30 pm
@Heavens Game-290: Sinking further HG……. How low can you go?
Show me?
5 Mar 2013, 16:30 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-292: hes deflecting, losing to poppa on this here blog is guaranteed infamy..
how will anyone take him seriously now?
oh wait
5 Mar 2013, 16:32 pm
@the curse-293: Strong chiefs attack vs strong stormers defense. the challenge is whether the stormers’ attack can better than the chiefs’ defense.
5 Mar 2013, 16:32 pm
anyways.. been lots of fun, have a pleasant day all..
HG, chin up fella (that way the manshes love hits you square in the face
)
e noho ra
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