Ex-Bok likes Stormers’ attacking intent

Cape Town - Former Springbok and Stormers wing Breyton Paulse is impressed by what he’s seen on the attacking front by his former team in 2017.

Since Robbie Fleck took over as Stormers head coach last year, the Capetonians have shown more impetus to attack - an element of their play which was missing during Allister Coetzee’s tenure as coach.

There was more inventiveness in 2016 and the Stormers have set their sights on further improvements in that department in 2017, with New Zealand skills coach Paul Feeney also joining them in the off-season.

When Gert Smal was appointed director of rugby at the union in 2014, he expressed the need for their teams to revert back to the attacking traditions of Western Province rugby.

Paulse, who was part of exciting Stormers teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s, likes what he’s witnessed thus far.

“You can clearly see that they’re trying to make things happen. It’s early days still, but with what I’ve seen so far I’m very, very impressed,” Paulse told the Cape Times.

According to Paulse, the team's attacking intent and execution has been "quite impressive", as well as the link play between forwards and backs.

The Stormers are unbeaten in their first three games of the 2017 Super Rugby competition, scoring 15 tries in victories against the Bulls (37-24, Cape Town), Jaguares (32-25, Cape Town) and Southern Kings (41-10, Port Elizabeth).

They have however conceded eight tries and with games against the dangerous New Zealand teams awaiting, the Stormers would need to find the right balance between attacking and defending.

The Stormers have a bye this weekend, with their next match scheduled against the Sunwolves in Singapore on March 25.