Stormers must ‘hold onto the ball more’

Damian De Allende couldn't help but stand back and admire the counter-attacking ability of the Chiefs at Newlands. EPA/Nic Bothma

Damian De Allende couldn't help but stand back and admire the counter-attacking ability of the Chiefs at Newlands. EPA/Nic Bothma

Published Mar 19, 2015

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Damian De Allende couldn’t help but stand back and admire the counter-attacking ability of the Chiefs at Newlands last Saturday.

Of course, he did more than just his best to try and stop the New Zealand side from crossing the Stormers’ line. But in the end he admits that sometimes you just have to applaud the genius of some teams.

For the big inside centre, his teammates and the coaching staff their first defeat of the season was tough to digest. But it seems they have taken to heart some of the lessons they were taught during that match.

The biggest lesson was that you don’t kick the ball onto a dangerous back three from the Land of the Long White Cloud.

And on that sunny day at Newlands, they might just have found a recipe to be successful on their four-match tour of Australasia, which starts next Saturday with a clash against the Highlanders.

“The defeat was disappointing, no one enjoys a loss,” De Allende said this week.

“We kicked quite a bit in the second half, and when you don’t kick good kicks they can punish you. That’s what we learned last week.

“It’s difficult to kick on the Kiwi sides because then you have to defend for 10 phases. They have skilful backs and their forwards also distribute the ball nicely, which is difficult to play against.

“We need to hold the ball more against New Zealand sides because they are good with ball in hand.”

The team from the New Zealand’s south island, the Highlanders, are similar to the Chiefs, with dangerous outside backs who need no invitation to punish poor tactical kicking.

The Stormers’ set piece, especially the scrum, has been outstanding, so they will certainly have their share of the ball in Dunedin.

They are playing under a roof, so conditions should be perfect to keep the ball in hand.

De Allende can certainly lead the charge for the Stormers. He has been superb in the first five matches of the campaign, and even overshadowed superstar Sonny Bill Williams at times last Saturday.

De Allende’s game is a lot more polished this season, as he has added a touch of finesse to his brute strength. Like Sonny Bill, De Allende likes to get his hands through the tackle and offload. But he says it’s something the entire Stormers team want to get right.

“It’s something we have all worked on, the players worked on it in the offseason. We want to improve our game. We want to speed the ball up and keep it alive, so offloading is one thing we have got to get better at,” De Allende said.

“It’s very technical, and it takes time and effort. I think as players we all are starting to do it and getting it right.

De Allende also chipped into the size debate this week, and believes that the weight and height of a player doesn’t really matter on the rugby field any more.

De Allende himself is quite big, but says players like Cheslin Kolbe have other strengths that make them potent attacking weapons on the rugby field.

“I think you can win a championship with a smaller backline, we proved in the first four matches that we can,” he said. “I don’t think size really matters in the sport, as long as you got a lot of heart and a lot of guts, and you don’t hold back.

“A guy like Cheslin is the perfect example. He is not scared to take players on and he is good under the high ball. We don’t feel threatened when we come up against a big backline.” - Cape Times

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