CAPE TOWN - The Stormers need to deliver against Griquas, not so much in terms of points (although that never hurts), but more in terms of performance, or the quality thereof.
There will be no shortage of motivation on the training grounds in Cape Town this week after the Stormers took a beating from the Bulls in their Super Rugby Unlocked meeting at the weekend, losing the game – which was abandoned after 64 minutes due to an approaching thunderstorm – 39-6.
But all that motivation and desperation for redemption won’t mean anything if they don’t make good on it on Saturday against Griquas.
There were just too many mistakes from Dobson’s team, and the attitude seemed to be lacking as well. Also, some of the errors that they made in their comeback wins against the Pumas and Lions crept in again during their third outing.
It’s clear that the Stormers haven’t exactly hit their straps yet, and this weekend they have another opportunity to try and get there.
So, here are some changes – or workons – the Stormers could consider ahead of the Kimberley fixture.
Cut the lax defence
The Bulls were good, but with some passages of play the Stormers made them look even better when the hosts were on the attack, especially in the build-up to some of their soft-on-the-eyes tries.
And the way some players just looked on as the Bulls got away from them – after missing or slipping a tackle – wasn’t a good look either.
They need to up their defensive effort – it was a bit of an issue before the Bulls game, and a big one during that fixture.
Fluidity on attack
This has been a rather elusive goal for the Stormers so far.
In their opener, their ball-handling seriously impacted their attacking game, and while they looked better in the second half, it seems like continuity is still an issue as there have been troubling patches again since then.
Apart from the mistakes from hand, it’s their general struggle to get continuity when they have possession that will continue to plague them if it’s not fixed.
Use that scrummaging power
The Bulls were great in that regard, and we all know the Stormers have the ability to punish opposition packs, but that hasn’t been a regular feature – or at least to the effect that it can be – until now.
Granted, they’ve had some ammo missing from their unit in recent weeks for different reasons, but the scrum is one area you should always be expecting the Cape side to dominate.
@WynonaLouw