Cape Town – Smarting after their first loss of the season, the Waikato Chiefs will march on to Newlands today hungry for redemption.
The future, rather than the past, will motivate the Stormers as they need a victory against the two-time Super Rugby champions to avoid sinking into a schedule that in the coming weeks has the consistency of quicksand.
This marks Duane Vermeulen’s last match until April 3. The Stormers’ skipper will today play his fifth match in a row and, in accordance with the SA Rugby programme aimed at resting key Springboks for the World Cup, he must now miss one game.
The Stormers have a bye next week, which means their next skirmish is the tour-opener against the Highlanders in Dunedin on March 28.
Vermeulen’s elevation to the captaincy has been the primary catalyst for the Stormers’ turnaround after two seasons of mediocrity. It remains to be seen how they will react to the absence of their astute leader.
A win against the Chiefs would dent the confidence of a team with proven contender status. It would also grant the Stormers some extra breathing space in the SA Conference. They would extend a six-point lead on the Bulls, who have a bye this week, and sustain their advantage over whoever wins when the Cheetahs battle the Sharks tonight.
Allister Coetzee has taken progressive steps to soften the blow. The Stormers’ coach assigned Eben Etzebeth to his first Bok rest this week, thereby giving the lock an extra fortnight to recover from a recurring sternum complaint while simultaneously ensuring that the enforcer would be available to duplicate Vermeulen’s firepower in Dunedin.
It is a wise big-picture move by Coetzee, but the downside is that it may cost the Stormers in the short term.
“They have a very heavy pack,” Vermeulen said of a Chiefs unit that lists tighthead prop Ben Tameifuna at 130kg – he’s probably closer to 145kg, standing in his leopard-print cycling shorts.
Though much of the talk leading up to this match has centred, pun intended, on the duel between Sonny Bill Williams and Damian de Allende, both midfield maestros depend on the heavies to get them the ball.
Injuries have taken care of Stormers brutes Rynhardt Elstadt (broken leg) and Michael Rhodes (knee), and there is a big drop off in size – an average of 12kg and 10cm per man – between the crocked duo and their replacements, Siya Kolisi and Nizaam Carr.
The reverse is true at lock, where Jean Kleyn is a heavier option than Etzebeth.
“Jean is a very under-rated player and I don’t see any drop off in physical intensity between him and Eben,” Coetzee said.
“Jean brings a massive work-rate and that’s what you need from a front lock – hitting rucks, taking charge of the physical exchanges at the breakdown, scrumming well and winning his ball in the line-out.”
The New Zealand line-out, once a giant bull’s eye for SA teams, is no longer an easy target for the old tactic of following up a relieving touch-finder by zealously contesting the throw-in.
In fact, it is the Stormers’ line-out that has struggled for consistency so far, a problem made worse by injuries at hooker and lock.
“We’re up against the best team in the New Zealand Conference and we’ll have to be at our best this weekend,” added Coetzee. “I want to see an improvement in our line-outs.
“The Chiefs are coming off a loss and they must still be hurting about that. They’ll want to get it right.”
Said Chiefs’ coach Dave Rennie: ”It was a pretty frustrating weekend. Hopefully we’ve learnt some lessons from it. We didn’t put the foot on the throat, the Highlanders hung in there and, in the end, they stole it. You’ve got to turn pressure into points.”
Stormers’ flyhalf Kurt Coleman has had no problem doing just that off the bench this season, converting five of six attempts at goal to earn the No 10 jersey today.
But Aaron Cruden has missed six of 20 shots at goal this season for a substandard 70 percent strike rate, and this after the Chiefs played three of their four games at home.
Rennie is hoping Cruden calibrates his sights, despite the distraction of 40000 Stormers’ fans willing him to miss… - Saturday Star