Rynhardt Elstadt needs to “out-work” Brad Thorn and not be intimidated by him in Saturday’s Super Rugby semi-final between the Stormers and Crusaders at Newlands.
That was the call from Stormers forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot on Tuesday. The vastly experienced Thorn was injured and did not feature for the Crusaders in their recent 20-14 victory over the Stormers at Newlands, with Luke Romano and Chris Jack guarding the second row.
IOL – Cape Times
But the All Black enforcer will be out to bash around the 21-year-old Elstadt, who has been a revelation as a front lock in his first season of Super Rugby. He has survived the stiffest tests all season, including dominating Bakkies Botha at Loftus Versfeld.
However, he will have to brace himself for a massive confrontation against 36-year-old gnarled veteran Thorn, who will want to make his last visit to Newlands a special one. He will move to Japan to play club rugby after the World Cup.
Proudfoot said on Tuesday night: “Obviously, Brad Thorn has a lot of Tests behind his name and has played in both codes. He is very experienced and the two guys are very similar in certain ways. Rynhardt will have to adapt to that. Thorn is a wise man and doesn’t get intimidated easily. So, I want a big step up from the tight forwards in that regard.
“I don’t think it’s a case of Brad being intimidated by Rynhardt. I think that what Rynhardt will have to do is out-work Brad. In everything he does, he will need to bring that physicality with him.“I don’t think, in a semi-final, you will necessarily get under the skins of sides who have won trophies before. There is a lot of experience in that Crusaders pack of forwards, and they won’t get caught up in that. It is going to be a case of having good aggression and a high work-rate, out-working their pack.”
Elstadt has also played a vital supporting role to star lock Andries Bekker this year, often poaching the opposition’s lineouts. And while Jack was in top form the last time, the Crusaders’ other first-choice lock is also part of the All Black pairing with Thorn, Sam Whitelock. The 22-year-old is not far off Bekker at 2.02m (compared to 2.08m), and is an athletic player who will look to trouble the Stormers at lineout time. The Cape side had a nightmare against the Bulls, but Proudfoot is confident that things will go smoother on Saturday. Tiaan Liebenberg is expected to start ahead of Deon Fourie at hooker, and with Liebenberg’s throwing-in a bit more consistent, it should aid the Stormers’ cause.
“They have four contesters. They have Kieran Read and Thorn in front, and the two Whitelocks (Sam and flank George) at the back. We did a bit of work on that at practice today, and we have to make sure that we open up some options for us. Read is pretty good at roaming, so it will be tough to win ball at the back,” Proudfoot said.
“I am really happy with our lineout. We have to be accurate, and will use the same system as we had against the Bulls, as they also had four contesters and operate a very similar system to the Crusaders. We have to see where the opportunities are, and design the ball around that.”
But with the introduction of Schalk Brits this week, the Stormers will look to lay on a huge onslaught in the second half. The likes of Brits, Deon Fourie and Juan de Jongh are all outstanding game-breakers, and their impact off the bench will be crucial.
“For Schalk and Deon to make a big impact, the game will have to be in the right situation. I suspect it will be a tight game, with big defence and a lot of kicking and pressure being applied on each other’s set phases. So, if the game is tight in the second half, the equation of bringing on Schalk and Deon to make an impact will start to happen,” Proudfoot said.
“They will look to their X-factor players to create a bit of magic and take the game away from us. And that is definitely what we will be looking for from our X-factor players. Deon definitely has that ability, Schalk has that ability, Juan de Jongh can do it, Schalk Burger, Jaque Fourie.
“We want those guys to exploit that situation. There won’t be many scoring opportunities early in the game, and we have to strike when it does happen.”