CAPE TOWN - A lot has happened since the Stormers last met the Chiefs in that quarter-final in 2016 - they’ve made some good progress in terms of their attacking approach, they’ve gained some new players and a skills coach in Paul Feeney and, of course, they’ve actually gotten a taste of the Kiwi sides during the pool stages (and they’ve beaten two - the Chiefs and the Blues), to name a few.
So now, as the excitement continues to build ahead of their quarter-final showdown against the Chiefs at Newlands on Saturday, I look at the aspects they’ve showed until now and what they should use, or lose, come the quarters.
What to use
Confidence:
Not only has Robbie Fleck’s team managed to rack up a few morale-boosting wins during the round-robin stages, but they’ve also managed to secure a convincing victory against the Chiefs in round eight. And that, knowing that they’ve beaten them this year at Newlands, should be milked for all it’s worth as they head into their second consecutive playoff fixture against Dave Rennie’s men. Yeah, in the build-up to the match, Rennie said that the past counts for little, and that may be true, but confidence sure does. And the Stormers will need to dig deep into their confidence stores to make sure their confidence levels are up there come Saturday afternoon.
Counter-attack:
The Stormers have scored a few brilliant tries from broken play and on the counter-attack courtesy of their dangerous outside back in Dillyn Leyds, Cheslin Kolbe and Seabelo Senatla, and this weekend should be no different. Don’t get me wrong, many of those top tries were scored in very loose games, and the Stormers will certainly need to be more structured this weekend, but the fact that they’ve showed they can be dangerous on the counter-attack and exploit the opposition’s mistakes will certainly serve them well against the Chiefs.
Line speed:
The Stormers have delivered a bit of a mixed bag in terms of their defensive performances. They’ve been outstanding in some games, while in others their solid defence seemed to appear in patches. Earlier this season, Fleck said that they’d been working on bringing line speed into their system, and it has shown at times. Against the Bulls at the weekend, there were passages of play where they put their old foes under some good pressure with the technique, and tomorrow they should try and give the Kiwis a dose of their own medicine (again) in this regard.
Damian Willemse:
The flyhalf has put his abilities on show whenever he’s made an appearance for the Stormers this season, and Saturday should be no different. It might not get any bigger than a quarter-final clash against the Chiefs at Newlands for the youngster any time soon, and this is the ultimate opportunity for him to show what he can do against the New Zealanders. It’s not a one-man show, not at all, and it shouldn’t be. But Willemse’s attacking brilliance should be fully used against one of the chiefs of attacking rugby.
Let the ball do the work:
The Stormers have sure made a lot of progress in terms of attack. They’ve played with more width and they’ve made use of some good variety in certain stages of the competition. But one thing is for sure, there can be no predictability on attack, not even when the going gets tough (as we’ve seen at times, like against the Sunwolves when they were under pressure).
What to lose
Those shaky lineouts:
I won’t single anyone or anything out when it comes to the set-piece and the up-and-down showings the Stormers have produced in this area, but whatever they found to be the problem, I sure hope they’ve fixed it. A few weeks ago, when asked about the lineouts, assistant coach Russell Winter said that they knew exactly what the problem was, but the forwards coach didn’t want to give anything away. Anyway, I hope that the Stormers will use the set-piece to launch some great attacking spells against the Kiwis, and I also hope we don’t see any skew throws or balls being overthrown this weekend because, and I don’t think I need to explain this, the Chiefs will pounce on that. Literally.
Errors/Indiscipline:
When you try more things on attack, handling errors are sure to slip in more often. And that’s fine. But what is not fine is a ridiculous number of these errors being made, especially against a team like the Chiefs. And it’s not just the handling errors the Stormers need to watch, their off-the-ball discipline and their thoroughness when it comes to the breakdowns also have to be a focal point. The breakdown will be of special importance here - I hope the Stormers don’t get sidetracked by any blocking schemes the Chiefs may try at the breakdowns. For more on off-the-ball discrepancies, see the last point.
I would make patchy defence something to “lose”, but I’ve touched on it already.
Rynhardt Elstadt:
Stormers forward Elstadt during training with the team. Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
How do I say this... okay, so I can’t think of any better way to do it than just to say it like (I think) it is. Elstadt has become a liability when it comes to little side-dramas on the field, and all I will say is that I hope the Stormers aren’t one man down at any stage during the game due to a yellow card. That is all.