It may seem ridiculous to say a team that has won 11 out of 12 games this season may be vulnerable yet that nonetheless is starting to look the case for the DHL Stormers since they returned to South Africa in December after scoring five impressive overseas wins in succession.
Ever since they started like a house on fire and then loosened up and started making errors against what was essentially a La Rochelle youth team in their second Investec Champions Cup game in Gqeberha the excellent game management and pragmatic approach that saw them to the top of the Vodacom URC log has been missing.
It is almost as if now that they are back in South Africa the Stormers feel like they need to show off for their fans, and in fairness the coaches and players do keep getting asked in press conferences when the Cape Town fans are going to see the wings and fullbacks scoring lots of spectacular tries again etc.
But for long periods of the 39-26 win over Leicester Tigers that closed off the Stormers’ pool phase campaign in the Champions Cup it was evident that the visitors were teaching the hosts a lesson in the benefits of taking on a more per centage and pragmatic approach. While the Stormers suffered because they tried too many off-loads and Hail Mary passes, Leicester were content to just spend time in Stormers territory.
Which they did for most of the first half, which was why the Stormers were a bit lucky to be leading 15-14 at the break courtesy of a late Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty. The Springbok flyhalf was captain for the day and at times it appeared he was part of the problem, with his teammates possibly suffering because they felt they needed to match his flamboyance.
MORE EMPHASIS ON MANAGING TERRITORY IS NEEDED
It was a positive therefore to hear Feinberg-Mngomezulu, when director of rugby John Dobson deferred to him when he was asked about the looseness of the Stormers approach, acknowledge the mistake that was made in this game and which has also been made in previous home games since the return from the five successive overseas games in October and November.
“Our (attacking) DNA has brought us success and trophies, so we lean on it,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
“But the next step is knowing when to kick and manage territory. When we follow the plan, we put points on teams. Sometimes we drift, and it comes from a good place, but it costs us.”
CAPE TEAM SHOULD BE WARY OF DESPERATE SHARKS
It does indeed, or it will if it persists, for the reality is that it hasn’t cost the Stormers until now. The team that had the blow out with the 61-10 defeat to Harlequins in London, the only defeat the Cape team has suffered in their new, distinctly different jersey, was effectively a second string team, and against the Tigers the Stormers did get the five log points they needed.
The reality though is that the Tigers were far from full strength, and that won’t be the case when the Hollywoodbets Sharks come to Cape Town this weekend for the resumption of the URC.
There’s a massive difference in where the two teams stand, with the Stormers first on the log and the Sharks 14th, but the facts that the Sharks need a win so much more than the Stormers do makes them more dangerous. And Dobson won’t want to lose either of the two back to back coastal derbies, with the two teams set to clash again in Durban a week after Saturday’s game in Cape Town.
“We’ve got two massive local derbies coming up, and we can see what the Sharks’ roster is going to look like next week (they’ve been saving their big guns), it’s going to be like the Bulls game all over again,” said Dobson in reference to the incredibly bruising recent north/south derby in Cape Town, which the Stormers won 13-8.
“We’ve just got to get through these next two weeks, then we’ve got a nice two weeks then a week’s prep before the Lions. We want to keep that unbeaten record in the URC.”
GOOD PLAYERS RETURNING TO THE SYSTEM THIS WEEK
While it was Leicester who were more under-strength, the Stormers weren’t exactly at full strength either, and will welcome back a phalanx of important players this week, including their defensive master-mind Ruhan Nel, fullback Warrick Gelant, the Bok duo of Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach, powerful lock Adre Smith who has developed into becoming the fulcrum of the impressive Stormers “bomb squad” when at full strength, lock and regular skipper Salmaan Moerat plus prop Sazi Sandi.
The team will look very different against the Sharks, but there should be a lesson to be learnt for the Stormers from the way they adjusted their game when Feinberg-Mngomezulu was yellow carded in the 63rd minute for leading with his elbow when carrying the ball. The Stormers when down to 14 men became more pragmatic, dug deep and it was during that period that lock JD Schickerling scored the try that clinched the game.
“You lose your skipper when you’re one point ahead – that’s tricky,” Dobson said. “You go down to 14 men and somehow we score the try that clinches the game. That’s the story of this team – the fight.”
Indeed, and Dobson will be hoping that against what should be a Bok laden Sharks team his men tighten up and focus on their strengths.