"f there is a top flyhalf available that the union can afford to recruit, new DHL Stormers coach Eddie Jones would be interested in opening negotiations.
He says, however, that he is happy to take on the challenge of developing the young players already on the Western Province books into stars who can win the Super Rugby title.
Jones hosted his first press conference as Stormers coach at Newlands on Thursday, and what he said would have been welcomed by those Cape and South African fans who are hoping to see the former Australia and ACT Brumbies mentor bring a new dimension to the local game.
“I am obviously new in this job but if you go back and look at the history of the union you will note that attacking rugby is what it is all about and what the fans expect, and we will be looking to develop a distinctive style that we will be known for,” said Jones.
“What we will be looking to do is develop an attacking style off a traditional South African base, which means forward domination and strong set phase play, which is pretty much what everyone chases after.
“I haven’t seen too much of the players I will be working with, but I have spoken a lot to assistant coaches and the rest of the management members over the past few days, and we are in agreement on what style we want to play and everyone seems very excited about it.
"I did watch a bit of the Currie Cup, maybe six or seven games, and I know that this is a squad that still has a lot of hair on the head, meaning that they are very young.
“We may lack a bit of experience in some areas, but there is a lot of young talent, and I will be looking to develop that talent into the style of rugby I envisage us playing. So you could say we will be looking to develop the talent that is available. Obviously that could take time, and it is difficult to say how long.
“If there is an experienced flyhalf that can be brought in to help in the meantime while the other players are developing, then I will look at that. The flyhalf and scrumhalf touch the ball more than anyone and determine what kind of game you play. But he would need to be affordable and the top guys are really expensive.”
Jones said that what he did know was that WP had a lot of really talented backs coming through, while he had been impressed by what he’d seen from some of the Stormers forwards who were involved with the Boks at the World Cup.
“That Frans Malherbe is a young player who really did well at the World Cup and appeared to develop really well, didn’t he? And Eben Etzebeth is quite a player. We have a strong front row and then we have Eben pairing up with Pieter-Steph du Toit in the second row, and we have the likes of Schalk and (Rynhardt) Elstadt in the forwards. We definitely have the players in those areas.”
Jones said he would be working closely with the age-group coaches to ensure that the message of the style of rugby he wants to play would be passed on and inculcated among the younger players coming through and those fringe players who might be needed during Super Rugby.
“That is obviously up to Gert as he is director of rugby, but in my meetings so far we’ve had all the other coaches in. It is important to ensure that everyone is equipped with the skills that will be required to play the game I want. Skill is what it is all about. We need players who can catch and pass while running at pace. That is the key to the attacking game. You can’t play attacking rugby without that.”
Jones is down to earth and a real coach. He knows exactly what the Stormers strong points are and in the article indicated no real problems with the forwards - but it is clear he has a problem with the backline players starting off his remarks with the need for a flyhalf. I think that young Robert du Preez is a youngster with promise - but he needs experience and further development. Jones referred to the need to contract a more experienced flyhalf - I am still hopeful that he can somehow get Goosen to come back and play for the Stormers.
He believes that there must be a strong junior players in the age group players and I think we will see Jones hand in their further development.
I believe that we will see a lot of new faces in the Stormers team next year - especially since three of their backline players are away on 7's duty.
It would be interesting what Jones is going to do with the disfiunctional Stormers backline. I think that players like Juan de Jong and Leyds will be searching for contracts elsewhere. I think that the only player sure of a place in the Stormers backline is De Allende.
