Four out of four, but still way off their best. It’s going to be scary when the Stormers actually put together a flawless performance after comfortably beating a hapless Sharks team 29-13 at Newlands on Saturday night.
The Cape franchise’s line-out is still a major concern, while they lack a bit of finesse and spark at the back. Their counter-attack is also pedestrian, and they still give away the odd penalty.
So far this season hookers Scarra Ntubeni and Bongi Mbonambi haven’t been able to consistently find their jumpers, which has seriously hampered the team’s attacking strategy from first-phase ball. The plethora of over-throws have also neutralised the team’s much-vaunted maul without the opposition having to break a sweat.
Besides the incredible Damian de Allende, the Stormers backs haven’t really made an impact with ball-in-hand.
Demetri Catrakilis kicks off the tee has been great, but his decision-making at flyhalf needs to improve.
But the Stormers are sitting pretty on top of the Super Rugby standings after an unbeaten start. And if they improve on those areas they could be genuine title contenders this season after being written off at the start of the campaign.
The Stormers scrum has been unbelievable in their first four matches, and the foundation of their success. On Saturday night they managed three tightheads against a Sharks frontrow that boasted two internationals.
Vincent Koch, the man from the Pumas, is anchoring the scrum like Super Rugby veteran, while Steven Kitshoff looks leaner and meaner, and seems to have put last season’s troubles behind him.
“It’s actually a massive surprise when you thinking of defending and the ball pops out at the back of your scrum!” captain and No8 Duane Vermeulen joked after the game.
The Stormers certainly looked after their ball a lot better on Saturday night after being outmuscled and outthought by the Blues and the Lions at the breakdown.
The dangerous Sharks openside flank Marcell Coetzee didn’t manage a single turnover and collected only one loose ball. In fact the whole Sharks team only managed two turnovers on Saturday night.
Coach Allister Coetzee was beaming when he walked into the press conference after the match. And why not? The Stormers have basically taken command of the South African conference with two away wins against the Bulls and the Lions and a home win against the Durban side.
“It’s very satisfying and a pleasing result, especially at Newlands. It was special to play at Newlands, and tonight was really a special performance,” Coetzee said.
“From last weekend we wanted to step up the physical intensity at the breakdown. We did that and we scrummed well. Obviously the line-out is still an issue that we weren’t happy about, but it’s something that we can rectify.
“In terms of the conference, it’s a massive win for us. The win puts us six points clear in our conference, and to win against quality opposition like the Sharks ... our players did well.”
One of the real stars has been De Allende, who was simply unstoppable with ball in hand on Saturday night.
He overshadowed the Sharks’ seasoned Bok centre pairing of Frans Steyn and JP Pietersen.
He also nailed Pietersen in a big hit on defence, while he also charged the ball down that led to the Stormers penalty try in the second half.
“He has been powerful, strong in the carries and that’s how we know Damian,” Coetzee said of his No12.
“He is really in a good space, and he has really stepped up in his conditioning a lot. The way we train, we are getting stronger in every game.”
The Sharks look like a disjointed outfit at the moment. After starting off well against the Stormers, they faded and had a few soft moments. Two of those moments resulted in 14 points for the Stormers.
Referee Jaco Peyper awarded the Stormers a penalty-try after Sharks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach had illegally played the ball in his in-goal area after wing Odwa Ndungane knocked the ball on after failing to clear his lines. The try also knocked the wind out of the visitors’ sails.
There was some initial controversy about the try, but Sharks director of rugby Gary Gold says the referee made the right call. - The Star