Stormers coach Allister Coetzee says that his team are capable of playing even better than they did against the Sharks who they beat 32-12 at the weekend.
“It was a good win and I am very satisfied with the outcome,” said Coetzee on the Stormers site.
“We played well tonight, especially in the first half where we scored 3 tries in the first 25 minutes.
The Stormers not only managed to prevent the Sharks from crossing their but they also secured a bonus point for scoring four tries.
“Last time at Newlands we were disappointing. (Against the Sharks) I felt we stood up physically and we once again did well on defence. ”
“We have been criticised for not scoring many tries, but if we are preventing the opposition from scoring then I am happy.”
The Stormers face the Crusaders this weekend and Coetzee says he is not getting too carried away by his team’s display. “I think we still have a lot to work on. ”
“We created several chances, which we didn’t take and in semi finals or playoff games you have to take these opportunities.
“Beating the Sharks twice is very good, but there is still a lot of rugby to be played and as we shift our focus to the next game, we will still look to improve.”
Captain Schalk Burger was happy to see a good performance having disappointed in the past following a bye week. “I think that is the first time we have gotten it right after a bye. It came at the right time for us. It gave us a chance to sort out the niggles and I think we looked refreshed tonight.
“The Sharks are an excellent side and luckily tonight the bounce of the ball went our way. ”
“We are very happy with the performance and now we begin preparing for the next challenge.”
The Bookies and many Super Rugby fans have the Crusaders as the favourites for this year’s Super Rugby title and last week’s man of the match Jean de Villiers knows the Stormers will be heavily tested at Newlands this weekend.
“It will be a huge challenge against the Crusaders,” said De Villiers.
“They are one of the form teams and their centre pairing of Sonny Bill Williams and Robert Fruean have probably been the best pairing in this year’s competition.”
“It will be very tough, but as a rugby player this is the kind of challenge you want, so we are looking forward to the challenge.”
They will have to step up, but they have it in them to do so. One of the reasons that people have been critical of the Stormers this year, in spite of winning all but one game, is that they have just not looked the finished article.
Last Saturday was a much more complete effort, but there’s still room for improvement.
Hopefully a Stormers win this weekend, that will be my Superbru pick. Stormers by 12.
The Crusaders are ready to be taken. In their last game you can see that the attrition is beginning to effect them and McCaw is not 100%. With Sonny Bill up against the best centre pairing in the world, lets see how he goes….I fancy Jean will pick up one of his passes at least and go through the line. I don’t know if Carter is back, but he is also carrying an injury. Ref must just be alert for SB’s propensity for hitting guys with the shoulder. I’ll put a 6 pack on this game.
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