Before the season staserted thay=t most astute rugby brain Beeno noted that the Stormers under the clueless Alistair Coetzee was in danger of fielding a midget backline.
The same astute Beeno regretted the departure of the astute Jake White.
I have also expressed my doubts about greenhorn John Smith becominhg CEO of the Sharks.
Both these SA unions have been severely short changed by the suits running matters.
Nice summary by Superspoirt.
However the Cape side is going to have to shore up their glaring defensive deficiencies if they want to remain in the hunt. The departure of Jacques Nienaber as defence coach in the off-season didn’t seem so problematic when the Stormers played against fellow South African sides that don’t have a clue how to attack, but Kiwi teams are expert at targeting the vulnerable areas in the opposition defensive systems and they are doing that perfectly against the Stormers.
Cheslin Kolbe is the bravest player playing Super Rugby and the commentators never fail to remark on that, but at the end of the day the laws of physics can’t be ignored and Kolbe isn’t helped by the fact that the other backs around him aren’t exactly monsters, with just about all the Stormers backs with the exception of Damian de Allende being smaller than their direct opponents.
The Stormers reacted to their home defeat at the hands of the Chiefs by resolving not to kick, something they had done astutely in their winning run against mostly South African opposition before that, but their policy of running at the New Zealanders won’t work either if the ball is being directed towards the outside backs.
Again the laws of physics come into it – the lack of bulk out wide means the Stormers are vulnerable there to the counter-ruck, and that is what has cost them dearly in the last three games (EPECIALLY WHEN THE PACK HAS BEEN DRAMTICALLY WEAKENED BY THE COLLECTIVE ABSENCE OF BURGER, ELSTADT AND RHODES WITH FLIMSY NON WARRIORS LIKE KOLIS PLAYED AND WITH CARR BEING MARGINALLY BETTER).
It doesn’t look likely to get any better for the Stormers as while their next opponents, the Waratahs, aren’t a New Zealand side, they do have big backs and their coach Michael Cheika will surely have done his homework on why the Stormers have faltered against the Kiwis. (Alistair will probably not have learned his lesson - is howard even on tour - but maybe we will get a marginally better ref)
When it comes to the Sharks, the problem area is more difficult to pinpoint than that of the Stormers, who at least have a magnificent hard-working pack fronting for them every week (NOT EVERY WEEK ONLY WHEN THE LOOSIES COMPRISE OF RHODES, VERMUELEN, ELSTADT AND BURGER) and were arguably on the receiving end of some dubious refereeing calls against the Hurricanes. (THAT IS AS MUCHAS THESE GUYS ARE ABLE TO SAY BUT IF WE CALL A SAPDE A SPADE IT WAS RANK CHEATING OF A SIDE OUT OF AWIN)
THE SHARKS
But it may be less easy to pinpoint because it doesn’t come down to an ‘it’ – for the Sharks, the problems are so many and so varied, and a lot of it probably stems unfortunately back to executive decisions made two years ago when John Plumtree – and hasn’t he proved his work at both Ireland and now with the Hurricanes – was axed from his role as head coach. (ONE UP TO OU MAAAAIKIE - BUT IN TRUTH PLUMTREE HAD RUN HIS COURSE))
There have been massive issues concerning recruitment that have stymied the Sharks since then, and the ploy of trying to grow young coaches into their positions clearly isn’t working. The lack of experience in the back-room was one of the reasons that Jake White departed Durban, and White in turn probably wasn’t vested enough in the Sharks to grow the youth structures that the union/franchise needs in order to ensure proper succession planning.
Not that White is completely to blame. He was forward thinking enough early last year to approach John Mitchell with the view of making him a succession planning coach, in other words let him take charge of the youth, but the request was turned down by the people who paid his salary.
All this foolishness should never have happened oaks.
