What to make of warm up matches?
Well as warm ups go Saturday’s match between the Stormers and the
Western Force was quite an entertaining affair. The Stormers “A”
side took on a Force “B” side and the result was a game of two
halves... :-)
Well in the first half, the Stormers looked magnificent on the
breakaway scoring a lot of points and some breathtaking tries to
rack up 41 points. In the second half, they only scored 13. The
usual litany of changes occurred round about the 60th
minute and the Force heavyweights change the game ever so slightly
after the departure of the Stormers superstars.
Speaking of which, Bryan Habana and Jaque Fourie were excellent in
their debuts. Habana was Habana, he chased everything, added value
on defence exhibiting his high work rate and finished a great short
range effort in customary style. Fourie was the midfield enforcer,
much has been written about his presence on the field but only when
witnessed firsthand can one appreciate his excellent communication
and organisational skills. He doesn’t shy away from any big tackles
and inspires his fellow defenders to form an impregnable line of
defence. Opposing flyhalves will have their work cut out this season
to beat the Stormers’ Maginot line.
One person, who must have been very happy with the duo’s
performance, was Rob Wagner, the Stormers MD. The crowd clearly
adored these two Springbok stalwarts and it is not often that the
Newlands main stand provides players with a standing ovation.
Thinking of their salary price tag, they need to perform and get
bums on seats for the Stormers to recoup the investment – so far so
good.
In summary, the game showed some encouraging signs for the Stormers
but the general impression is that they are brilliant on the counter
with a few question marks on the set phases and they were not quite
physical enough at the breakdowns. The former can be remedied – one
expect but the latter is one area, all the South African teams bar
the Bulls struggle with. It could be because too many “ball carrier”
forwards are standing off or it is a concerted effort of opposing
teams to target this undermanned area. Whatever, it needs work
because quick second phase ball is a non-negotiable with the way
defensive lines are organised.
All in all it was a great spectacle and Stormers supporters will be
encouraged but then it was just a warm up game.
