CAPE TOWN – The Stormers made an encouraging start to their season with a well-taken 37-24 Super Rugby derby win over the Bulls at Newlands on Saturday.
The most pleasing aspect of the Stormers' display was the variations on attack and one sensed that it might have come from the influence of their new Kiwi skills coach Greg Feeney. Stormers' coach Robbie Fleck did shoot down this suggestion at the post-match presser, saying that the team's coaches had collectively contributed to the match-winning performance.
The Stormers dominated and outplayed their opponents in all departments of the game and after a 24-0 first-half lead, they must have fancied their chances of a bonus-point win with a 3-0 try count.
However, although, Bulls never managed to gain the upper hand in overall second-half play, they exposed weaknesses in the Stormers' defence and actually ended up winning this stage of the game 24-13 after outscoring their opponents 4-2 in the try count. This four-try burst also denied the Stormers a chance of claiming a bonus-point win .
On reflection, the Bulls never really got into their stride in the first half as they seemed flustered by the Stormers' vibrant start to their match. In addition, the expected influence of their captain and flyhalf Handré Pollard did not materialise. It was clear that after more than a year's absence from the game, he will need more game time before he is able to impose himself on matches once more.
Fleck said the Bulls managed to stage a second-half fightback largely because of the Stormers' "soft moments" which he said could be fixed ahead of Jaguares outing at Newlands next week. “There were certain soft moments in the second half, but it was a good start for us and lots of positives that we can take away, but we are certainly not the finished product yet," said Fleck.
“Those soft moments are things that we can fix quite quickly and I am glad they happened because we need to continue working hard. It is just the start and it is a long competition so we have got to keep working hard as a group." Fleck was pleased with the way his team started out in the first half and was looking for the same in the second stanza.
“It was a good first half and tactically we got it right, I felt our physicality was outstanding and we took our opportunities," said Fleck. “The disappointing part is that we spoke about that at half-time because we didn’t want to let them back in and we wanted to continue with that momentum. “As a group, we are going to be hard on ourselves and we can only improve if we are honest with each other and keep working hard.” The Bulls were not expected to play second fiddle at the set-pieces and the Stormers' superior scrum performance was rather surprising.
“We work hard on our set-piece, it is something that we pride ourselves on and we will keep working on it,” said Fleck. Stormers' loosie Siya Kolisi was pleased his first outing as the franchise' new captain ended on a victorious note.
“It was a tough game, but what a great way to start the season," said Kolisi. "We have worked very hard in the pre-season and a lot of it came out, but we still have a lot of improving to do. “As a leader and a new group of leaders, I have got a lot of stuff that I want to work on." The bad news was that centre Damian de Allende sustained an ankle injury which may sideline him for some time. “Damian is not good news. He is going to go for scans but my understanding is that it is not positive news,” said Fleck.
African News Agency