Things went horribly wrong for the Stormers in their 57-24 thrashing by the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday… that we all know.
The Stormers’ defence during the tour-opening beating has been the big talking point since the match. Yes, it was certainly a big part of their subpar performance, probably the biggest part, but there were other aspects that the Stormers will need to sort out ASAP if they want to avoid making what has been described as a “tour from hell” really hellish.
And one of those aspects is how they look after the ball.
The Stormers were only in command for a little over 10 minutes, and during that period they couldn’t turn their possession into (five) points. And yes, that says a lot about the Crusaders’ line speed and aggressive defence, but it also says enough about the Stormers and what they did (or didn’t do) when they had possession in Christchurch.
It did go better in the second 40, but it doesn’t really matter, because the Stormers’ performance in the first half, and even in the second, should send them back to the drawing board faster than Cheslin Kolbe can pounce on a ball in mid-air to score an intercept try (or is Pete Samu more applicable here?).
The visitors lost possession too easily after restarts, and in the second half, when the Stormers actually enjoyed some possession, they had only themselves to blame for their inability to score, as their decision-making and handling errors cost them very dearly.
All that pressure seemed to have not only affected the Stormers’ decision-making, but also their execution, and their awful tally of handling errors confirmed that.
And there were two occasions where the Kiwis punished the South Africans for their clumsiness – when Pete Samu caught a misdirected, almost-into-touch pass by Dan Kriel, and when Manasa Mataela caught a high pass by Oli Kebble to Pieter-Steph du Toit to run in the Crusaders’ eighth try. That is one thing you just can’t get wrong against a team like the Crusaders. You need to look after the ball. And you need to do what you can when you have it.
If there is one thing Robbie Fleck, pictured, should take from that nightmare defeat, it’s a lesson from the Kiwis on how to show real appreciation for the ball.
When it was on, the Crusaders played, and when it wasn’t, they showed patience and chose the best plan to deal with the situation – whether it was to go for the exit kick or to take the ball phase through phase.
Then there was the Stormers’ obvious flaw; their defence. They were their own worst enemy when it came to defence, and some of them slipped off tackles like they didn’t want to make them in the first place, while too many players came out of their defensive line, leaving dangerous gaps.
A perfect example of that was when Kolbe moved inside (twice), which allowed the inside man in red and black to simply drift a pass out wide to George Bridge for his third and Kieran Read for his second.
And apart from what the Stormers did wrong, there were just so many things that the Crusaders got right. After all, if a team puts 50 points on the opposition, especially if the opposition aren’t too bad, it can only be assumed that they played well.
And that’s one of the reasons why I’m not going to get into the referee debate. Paul Williams made a few poor calls, no one can argue that, but again, the ref factor can’t be used when you trail or lose like that. But in saying this, I should also add that calls like those (there were a few unfair ones towards the Stormers that definitely impacted the game, especially at and around the breakdown) definitely can shift momentum, or in the Stormers’ case, kill momentum.
From the hard, physical battles to the more flashy displays, the Crusaders just got it right.
They showed great variation at their set-piece, especially the lineouts, to launch attacks, while their line speed put the Stormers under tremendous pressure.
They built phases with patience and grit and their superb handling included fantastic offloads (their almost freakish ability to keep the ball alive was out on show – remember Read’s first try?) and there were great skip passes, while these passes were taken at a speed so high you would think it’s the only thing they practice during training. And then, of course, there was their running lines.
So the Stormers have their work cut out for them as they prepare to take on the Highlanders on Friday, before their last fixture of the tour to New Zealand against the Hurricanes. And again, at the very least, the Crusaders’ performance should have left Fleck with some valuable lessons.