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Stephen Nell
Cape Town – The Bulls may not want to know it, but they are the Stormers’ biggest allies on their Super 14 tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Former Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe believes the Capetonians will benefit from catching each of their opponents on tour every week after they had been involved in a match against the Bulls the week before.
“It’s good for the Stormers to tour after the Bulls as they will be sapping the energy from those teams,” said Van der Merwe.
“When a team has played the Bulls, there will usually be a few injury niggles the following week and players will be unable to train as a result.
“The Stormers will then follow and they will also pose some tough questions.”
The Stormers’ first task on tour is against the Western Force on Friday.
Van der Merwe believes this game will not only be of crucial interest for their tour, but also for the Stormers’ entire campaign.
“The first match holds the key. It’s important to start well so that you don’t land in a downward spiral,” he said.
“You have to aim to perform well in the first few games. The last tour game is always difficult as the players start thinking about going home.”
The Stormers play the Blues in Auckland next week. After that it’s the Chiefs in Hamilton before their last tour game against the Reds in Brisbane.
“The match against the Reds will be difficult. Everybody initially thought that it might be an easy game, but Ewen McKenzie is doing very well as a coach,” said Van der Merwe.
The fact that the Stormers’ last three games in the league phase will be against the Crusaders, Sharks and Bulls, makes success on tour of crucial importance.
“Those are three very important games. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you are under pressure to get 12 or 13 points in the last three league games,” said Van der Merwe.
“The first three games are of vital interest. If you lose in Perth and travel to Auckland after that, the pressure builds.”
Van der Merwe predicts a Stormers victory on Friday.
“They have too much for the Force up front and at the back. They put a lot of pressure on opponents and exploit their mistakes very well.”
Van der Merwe believes the experience in the Stormers’ ranks, their powerful pack of forwards, Schalk Burger’s leadership, intelligent contracting and good management by senior staff has contributed to the team’s success thus far.
“The team is older, with guys like Pieter Louw, Francois Louw, Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon and Andries Bekker now all more experienced,” said Van der Merwe.
“You can also see that it is a pack coached by a front-ranker (Matthew Proudfoot).
“As captain Schalk has also managed to rally the players around him.
“Western Province bought well, with guys like Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie coming on board. You suddenly have six or seven key players that are decision-makers and young guys coming into their own around them.
“It’s a well-oiled machine, but still has to be kept on course. Here Allister Coetzee (head coach) and Rassie Erasmus (director of coaching) deserve a lot of credit.”
Cape Town – The Bulls may not want to know it, but they are the Stormers’ biggest allies on their Super 14 tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Former Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe believes the Capetonians will benefit from catching each of their opponents on tour every week after they had been involved in a match against the Bulls the week before.
“It’s good for the Stormers to tour after the Bulls as they will be sapping the energy from those teams,” said Van der Merwe.
“When a team has played the Bulls, there will usually be a few injury niggles the following week and players will be unable to train as a result.
“The Stormers will then follow and they will also pose some tough questions.”
The Stormers’ first task on tour is against the Western Force on Friday.
Van der Merwe believes this game will not only be of crucial interest for their tour, but also for the Stormers’ entire campaign.
“The first match holds the key. It’s important to start well so that you don’t land in a downward spiral,” he said.
“You have to aim to perform well in the first few games. The last tour game is always difficult as the players start thinking about going home.”
The Stormers play the Blues in Auckland next week. After that it’s the Chiefs in Hamilton before their last tour game against the Reds in Brisbane.
“The match against the Reds will be difficult. Everybody initially thought that it might be an easy game, but Ewen McKenzie is doing very well as a coach,” said Van der Merwe.
The fact that the Stormers’ last three games in the league phase will be against the Crusaders, Sharks and Bulls, makes success on tour of crucial importance.
“Those are three very important games. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you are under pressure to get 12 or 13 points in the last three league games,” said Van der Merwe.
“The first three games are of vital interest. If you lose in Perth and travel to Auckland after that, the pressure builds.”
Van der Merwe predicts a Stormers victory on Friday.
“They have too much for the Force up front and at the back. They put a lot of pressure on opponents and exploit their mistakes very well.”
Van der Merwe believes the experience in the Stormers’ ranks, their powerful pack of forwards, Schalk Burger’s leadership, intelligent contracting and good management by senior staff has contributed to the team’s success thus far.
“The team is older, with guys like Pieter Louw, Francois Louw, Joe Pietersen, Gio Aplon and Andries Bekker now all more experienced,” said Van der Merwe.
“You can also see that it is a pack coached by a front-ranker (Matthew Proudfoot).
“As captain Schalk has also managed to rally the players around him.
“Western Province bought well, with guys like Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie coming on board. You suddenly have six or seven key players that are decision-makers and young guys coming into their own around them.
“It’s a well-oiled machine, but still has to be kept on course. Here Allister Coetzee (head coach) and Rassie Erasmus (director of coaching) deserve a lot of credit.”
