Disappointing Stormers lucky to prevail

For much of the game the Sharks looked the better team. Although I can't vouch for the last 15 minutes which were cut off on my internet feed.

A few thoughts on what I saw. For the Sharks,  Lambie looks so much less settled at 10. He kicked too deep, directly into touch and grubbered dangerously off Van Aswegen. This lad's main attributes are upstairs, I don't think he is physically well suited to 10...he is better running onto the ball. JP is looking awkward at 13. Bosman bailed him out on occasions with some accurate tackling....he might have to follow Habana back onto the wing. Ludick is a zero in any case.

For the Stormers Grant is looming as a must. I'm not sure Pietersen can be relied on with the boot.....and van Aswegen needs a lot more work. That said Pietersen's general game is first class....his tackle on Mvovo in space,  pure quality. Liebenburg needs to be hit with a two by four. He goes offside on a droput, gifts Lambie an easy penalty which he misses and then makes up for that by gifting a penalty right in front.

One is left with a muddled impression of what these two teams are about. What exactly do they do to beat an opponent.....muddle on and hope for the best it seems.

 luck has nothing to do with it - a win is a win and you make your own luck!

I actually thought the Stormer's were the better of the two! Both sides looked too frenetic and muddled though. de Jongh was a big step up from Habana. I actually think he has real Bok potential now but they are not getting the most out of him. They can't just throw the ball wide and expect things to happen. This game was very frustrating in that way.

 Agreed, the Sharks looked like they had the slight upperhand for much of the match, but reality is, it was a close call all the way through with both sides evenly matched. Marcel Coetzee has Bok written all over him as does Etzebeth for the Stormers - for two 20 year olds they have great physical presence.

Its too soon to make a call on JP at 13, he was good last week and at best solid this week.

Why der Aris thinks wee de Jongh is Bok potential is beyond me - but hardly a surprise!!!!

If you have a Frans at 12 with Hougaard and Morne and huge physicality on the deck; de Jongh could very easily prosper. Try and think outside the box Dave. You bleat so hard about creativity yet you are defiantly linear in your thinking.

Yes Dave Coetzee is impressive. I thought Etzebeth was a trifle less impactful this week though. And De Jongh from what I saw before being cut off, looked good. I have never seen de Jongh let his side down defensively at 13......at 12 he isn't quite big enough to prevent the offload. And on the offensive side he is very competent.

 No der, we dont need the useless Morne at 10 and certainly not a 87kg outside centre - end of

 Etzebeth is pure grunt, the lad drives players backwards at a rate of knots - he man handles them. Is finding his feet well, for it was his running at Bok U20 level that impressed me - he is still to show that aspect of his game.

Coetzee is a real gem, looks for space, has good pace and strength - beats the tacklers

Why not? You want running rugby don't you? You punt the defensively hapless Bambie and Yawnjies at 10 as lambs to the slaughter, yet you have a problem with de Jongh at 13? Just try to think outside of the box Dave. de Jongh is a very clever stepper, and may well serve us at 13. With a powerful 12 that is guaranteed to get beyond the gainline if not stepp his own way through it, and with a very deft pass and offload, we could get alot out of de Jongh. I would very much like to try de Jongh out at 13 for the Boks. It gives us some variation. Fourie still has test rugby in him, and offers those powerful surges, but having a different flavor of 13 in the side can't hurt us.

Well said again Aristrokat, it's hard for some to accept De Jongh, he's outside of the tradional Bok mould of being a big strong centre who runs through brick walls  hence the reason his skills in stepping, swerving and zippiness are ignored. A top of the ground player  very similar to Hougaard he reads the game well and brings a much needed dimension to a sterile Bok backline. Talk of him being too small is just rubbish and the prediction of him being smashed by bigger players sounds like those nutters who predict the end of the Earth.....is it going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month or next year? Gio Aplon was brutally tackled by Bakkies,no big deal, Aplon is still running around no problem.

The trouble with de Jongh  which is being missed is his lack of ability to pas sthe ball. Like Kirchner of the bulle he dies with the ball far to often.

If he is out best number 13 all I can say is alas! He needs to work on his distribution skills overtime. Unfortunately neither Alistair or Fleckie have too much of a clue regarding backline play.

I missed the first 25 minutes of the game for which apparently the Sharks were the better side. However they were defintely outplayed in the second half and only some very inept kicking by Joe kept them in the game.

The sharks may moan about having Beast, Alberts and Deysel out but the Stormers have Burger, Elstadt and Fourie out as well.

I said at the begining of the season I was not too concerned about our scrumming and thus far that prediction is safe and doing well. Young Kitshoff is doing well. Nice to see him get one up on Jannie!

I would like however to see a loose trio of Burger , Vermuelen and Elstadt and us fielding a pack weighing very close to 940 kg. Folk said the combo of Burger Vermulen and Louw would be to slow, But look how amazing the Stormers were defensively. This is what you call a dominant pack tha twoul droll over the bulle and hardly raise a sweat. 

Away with the show ponies and con artists! I almost fell off my chair when wee victoria was bleating on before the game that it all starts with the tight five. Why oh why did he never attempt to play as one of the tight five one asks will tears in ones eyes!

Anyhow I do hope ou Sharkie was a little encouraged

 de Jongh to date has been a complete failure at test level. He might be able to step the odd player at CC or S15 level where space is available. In test rugby space is at a premium and therefore the little stepper makes no impact at all. To be a test 13 you need skill, speed and physicality - de Jongh has the first two - but at 87kgs is never going to have the third. You have to impose yourself physically as a centre in test rugby - if you dont know that stop watching the game.

Prove me wrong by naming a current international 13 weighing less than 90kgs - take your time!!!!

I'll save you some time:

Williams (Wales) - 103kg

Fourie (SA) - 102kg

Smith (NZ) - 95kg

Rougerie (France) - 100kg

O' Driscoll (Ireland) - 95kg

Barritt (England) - 95kg

Ashely-Cooper (Oz) - 98kg

The smallest being all of 95kg's some 8kgs more than wee de Jongh - you get the picture boys - I suggest a wake up is in order

Quite so Dave but far worse are the nutters who think wee keegan is a Bok hopeful and wee matfield 107 kg could possibly do the job of a lock. The mind boggles at such foolishness!

De Jongh is a mere 3 kgs off your benchmark Danielsand matfield far more off the benchmark.

De Jongh's trouble is that his little breaks lead nowhere as he fails to distribute. Goes to ground again and again and the movement dies. Possibly a decent coach could sort him out but one is not at hand

Really Dave? Wesley Fofana (88kg)? Your obsession with weight is highly suspect Dave. Why not take into consideration that French 76kg scrumhalf that monstered Bekker on the illfated 2009 EOYT? From a standing position he haulted a bullocking run and dumped him 2metres. Weight does not equal strength.