Why the Stormers needed to win at Newlands

It's a matter of scheduling. To this point their schedule has been average...to provide a rough measure I used the number of wins of their opponents through the first 7 games.....adds up to 22. ..... For the next 8 games their opponents have already chalked up 29 victories.....vs an expected 24 based on competition to date. A big step up and those tough opponents are largely being played in NZ. .... The Lions have played average teams with a total of 21 wins to date, very similar to the Stormers. But in their next 8 games their opponents have only won 18 games to date.....a way easier schedule. ... So a loss for the Lions probably wouldn't have tanked their home field hopes. For the Stormers it was their best shot, from here on things get very tough. It's a remarkable schedule difference, but the Lions certainly made it hard to argue by beating the Stormers last week. . I hope the new competition is more transparent. These differences in schedules certainly make for an uneven tournament.

The Stompies Blowhards didn't have a problem with the schedules last year. Now when the boot is on the other foot they're bleating that it's unfair. Didn't hear too much crying form the Lions and Sharks supporters last year when they were up against the Kiwi teams.

Poor little dears. Sniff.

Yeah, the Stormers are going to be up against it now. A win against the Lions would have given them a great confidence boost before the away leg of their campaign. Now they leave the comfort of home coming off a loss. They have the Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes and the Blues away from home. Very few teams will come back from a tour like that with a great winning record. Lions have the Jag's, Force, Rebels and Brumbies. I think it is fair to say that after the next four or five games, the Lions will be sitting pretty on top of the SA log.  
I hope I am wrong about the Stormers, because any legitimate title challenge needs to include wins over the NZ teams, but the reality is, that many away games in a row against NZ franchises is tough no matter how you look at it. 

Lions and Sharks did okay last year against the NZ sides.

The Sharks lost to the Crusaders at home, lost to the Blues away, beat the Highlanders away, lost to to the Chiefs away before finally beating the Hurricanes at home.

The Lions beat the Chiefs away, lost to the Highlanders away, lost to the Crusaders at home, lost to the Hurricanes at home and beat the Blues at home. They then beat the Crusaders at home in the playoffs, beat the Highlanders at home in the semi and finally lost to the Hurricanes in the final.

That is a grand total of 6 wins and 7 losses between the two teams. Not bad.