In an effort to eliminate the 2009 runners-up from realistic play-off equations, the Stormers are aiming to put the squeeze on the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday morning.
“If we can put them under pressure we can force them to make errors,” forwards coach Matt Proudfoot said in Auckland on Monday afternoon. “They’re a high-attrition side – they go for gold – so if they make errors, there are points lying around.”
Several Chiefs players have been laid low by injury which may explain why, after nine rounds of action, the Waikato side are only two points shy of exceeding last year’s full-season tally of 236 points conceded.
“Losing a couple of senior players hasn’t helped them at all and they’ve leaked tries since the younger guys have had to step in,” said Proudfoot.
All Blacks fullback and Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina was ruled out with a season-ending broken thumb during his team’s round-eight victory against the Highlanders, while injuries to hooker Aled de Malmanche, props Nathan White, Ben May and James McGougan, and lock Kevin O’Neill have seen five tight forwards sidelined.
“It’s a tough ask,” Chiefs coach Ian Foster said. “I don’t like to dwell on injury problems but we’ve just got to be realistic right now.”
“Aled de Malmanche’s injury is massive for them,” admitted Proudfoot. “They relied on him to bring a punch to their pack. And, even though centre Richard Kahui is a fantastic player with the ball in hand, you just can’t replace a guy such as Mils.”
Stormers centre Jaque Fourie who tops the team’s 2010 try-scoring chart with four tries, was less enamoured with Kahui’s form but cautioned against opening the door for the complacency that cost the tourists in Perth.
“Kahui is not as physical as Blues centre Rene Ranger, and not that good a stepper, but it’s going to be tough,” he said. “We don’t just pitch up at Hamilton and win. It’s going to be hard work but there are opportunities to exploit if we take ball through phases and put them under pressure.”
The Stormers have shown glimpses of good ball retention skills in 2010 but squad rotation and injuries have dented the kicking game that will be central to applying pressure on their hosts this week.
Ricky Januarie’s rotation in at scrumhalf coincided with fullback Joe Pietersen’s injury-enforced absence and, with flyhalf Peter Grant left to front the battle for aerial supremacy, the Stormers have struggled to win the field position required for launching attacks.
The return of halfback Dewaldt Duvenage last week improved the team’s fortunes in this department as they recovered from failing to win a single set piece inside the Western Force’s 22 a fortnight ago, to claiming a lineout and scrum feed in the red zone in Auckland last week.
Duvenage is expected to retain his place when the team is announced on Wednesday morning while prop JC Kritzinger will have had to complete a fitness test earlier on Tuesday to bump Eusebio Guinazu out of his place among the replacements.
The coaching team is eager to see an improvement in the execution of the kicking maps, but Proudfoot was pleased with the fact that the Stormers are making the most of scoring opportunities in 2010.
“The key is that when you get two opportunities that you utilise them,” he said. “When you get one opportunity you have to use it. You have to make sure that you don’t have four lineouts in their 22 and only execute two of them.”
Half the tries scored on both sides of this rivalry have historically been claimed by the outside backs and it’s an ominous sign that All Blacks finisher Sitiveni Sivivatu will have a chance to prove his fitness before the Chiefs team is named on Wednesday morning.
The travelling side want at least seven more log points from their tour of Australasia but it’s a matter of survival for the Chiefs who would have to go unbeaten in their four remaining matches, if they slip up against the Stormers.
“The Stormers have had a very good campaign,” added Foster. “They’re now travelling well away from home, they’re very physical and they’ve shown that they can score tries, so the challenges aren’t getting any smaller for us, but I believe we can take a lot of confidence from our previous performance and show everbody that we can grow from it.”
Well lets hope so.
Thanks Super for a positive article on The Stormers.
GBS, point taken on the stats of The Bulls on defence since travelling, they have tightened up.
We want 2 SAfrican teams in the top 4 and would love 2 home semis, agg, a man can dream, last time Stormers had a home semi they toy toyed for more money and took their eye off the ball.
Also see Sona Taumalolo the Chiefs Loosehead is out with a shoulder injury. Bulls soften them up nice for Stormers 😯
Stormers will win this one easy, especially if Duvenage starts.
Go Stormers
2 – Manlybok, Morning mate,
Stormers play like they did last week they will win this one easy. I too would love to see two saffa sides in the final.
Hey Puma, yeah what a game, and if you think of the tries they butchered, I can’t wait for them to click, but still a way to go.
Any update on Duvenhage, I see he’s down on the team list but the way he limped off had me worried, he made a big difference.
5 – Howzit Manly, Not so sure about Devenage thought he was going to be out for this game, but read here he will start. If he does that is perfect. Stormers play better with him at scrummie.
Also see Chiefs Loosehead is injured. Stormers will beat the Chiefs, even if their Loosehead never got injured. Just makes it a bit easier. Chiefs just not as good this year, too many injuries.
That was a cracker of a game against the Blues. Best game of the weekend maybe the tourney together with Bulls/Tahs game those two games are standouts of the S14 season so far.
Agree don’t think Stormers have clicked 100% yet, once they do they going to be awesome. Then if Bulls can play the way the played against the Tahs put in defence there and they will be very, very hard to beat. Really would like to see a Bulls/Stormers final. That would end this S14 on a high.
Yep, Bulls must beat the Reds, almost guaranteeing a semi, plus I would like to see their bubble burst, hehe.
Morning folks,
In as much a we ask the question, “which Blues team is going to pitch-up on the weekend”, the same question can and should be asked about the Stormers.
Sure they played their best 40 minutes of the season, but that is no guarantee that they will do the same come Friday. It will be tougher than what we hope it will be. And remember, I live in the Cape of Good Hope….
And to compound matters, Mossie shoots his mouth off – again!
Kinners van vandag!
7 – Manly, The Bulls should beat the Reds, but that Red side is no push over. They a very good side this year. The seem to be playing fearless rugby, don’t think they are thinking of a semi just playing good rugby and the results are coming cause of that. Cooper and Genia are superb. Going to be very close I feel.
The advantage for Stormers they can see what went right or wrong for the Bulls before they play them. I like that…..hehehe.
Only of course that Force game, just not sure why the Stormers fell off there but think with Ricky starting never helped. Ricky is good coming in the last 10 min. Stormers need Duvenage to start, especially against the Reds. HAVE to have him start.
7 – Manly, sorry for answering your posts late, I do a bit of work between blogging….hehe.
Howzit Fender? How you buddy?
8 – Fender….hehehe. What did J.Fourie say this time?
I like that saying (The Cape of Good Hope)…hehe.
In my history classes (that feels like another life time ago.hehe) always enjoyed reading just that. (The Cape of Good Hope)
gooooooooooooooooooooood morning everyone!!
Hello, flok!
Has anybody got a Generator I can borrow for the day… or maybe two days?
Help me!!
Our fattup town’s Power went off at about 3:00 am and is still off!
I cannot work and what’s probably more important, someone is coming to my office late afternoon to have a video conference with some lawyers in Canada…. I have to get my ADSL and systems up and running!
Flok, ek gaan koop sommer nou een Masassa-hare Inverter en genoeg deep Charge batterye om dit vanaand soos dag hier te laat lyk!
Die Munisipaliteit van Brakkenjanpan of Eksdom…. julle is fattup!
13
Hier gaan dit ook so , kort kort krag af, dit flok alles op, daai blou skerm gee my nagmerries. Ek sien hoe donner die aan af krag my rekenaar weer binnekort op. Die battery backup soek ook nie van varying voltages nie, so lyk dit
manley lately i am a bit more positive about the Stormers, there is a lot of our players down there , i am not like the Lion boykies who wanted evil things to happen to JF, we still respect what Habs did for us.
But when we play each other the nice old provincial rivalry comes to the fore.
Still all in good spirit.
The Saint though must be tarred and feathered. 😀 But i love his way out opinions. Just hope he is not a sensitive person like some other WP supporters i knew.
Going to be a good game, Stormers have been playing really good quality rugby, Chiefs at home are going to be fired up.
#7, 8 Puma
Sorrie that I couldn’t get back to you earlier my broer, but now that I’m on a break I’ll type with one finger while trying to eat a cheese and tormenting sandwich.
I’m very well, thanks and hope you are too?
Ja, the Cape has so many names. Kinda depends on what you saw first (The fairest Cape – Francis Drake:), whether you had a positive mindset following a brief and tumultous encounter with the boss (Cape of Good Hope – Jan van Riebeeck), and how long you stayed (Cape of Storms – everybody else, hehe!!).But it remains the place where my heart lives and breaths.
Mossie is dissing Kahui (see above report). Why, for peace sake?
Puma here is a Kaapse joke for you:
Question: Wat hettie drummer vi Jan Van Riebeeck gese toe hulle annie Kaap land?
Answer: Ek gan net speel assie Drommedaris.
fender @ 17
ekt weer gehoor dat die ou (jan vR) baie doof was
..
stuur hulle hom met die opdrag
“jan, gaan maak ñ tuintjie”
hoor die ou
“jan, gaan maak ñ kleintjie” 😉
#
of het hulle dalk gesê
“jan, gaan bou ñ stasie”
toe hoor hy
“jan gaan bou ñ nasie”??? 😀
#18, 19
Hoor, hoor!!
17 – Fender..hehehe. Good one that.
On the Cape well it is for sure the (Fairest of them all) All of those sayings are great, Cape of Good Hope, Cape of Storms. What a magnificent place Cape Town is and the whole of the Cape for that matter. Love the place, must be our most beautiful in the country. I have traveled the world over and for me the Cape beats everywhere, it is the most beautiful place. Just the WINTER months there are not good. Then I rather be in Umhlanga but in the humid months of the East Coast of South Africa then I would rather be in the Cape, hot and all there but the humidity never as bad as Umhlanga.
7 – Fender, just read the thread proper now and see what Fourie has said. Well that is just him, he normally does that sort of thing. I will always remember him saying before we played Fiji in the World Cup 2007. “Why is everyone so worried about Boks playing Fiji? it is only Fiji after all” Well he said something like that, then we almost went and lost to them. 😯 So maybe he should keep his mouth shut sometimes.
Puma, I can’t agree more with you….wil Mossie luister nie!
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