Norman Laker, the Stormers' defence coach, candidly dismissed the myth of an unbeaten season in the Vodacom URC, following a robust comeback victory against the Bulls. After suffering three consecutive derby losses, the Stormers reasserted themselves at Loftus, proving their resilience and capacity for learning from their defeats.
"You must be naive as players and coaches to think you’re going to go through a URC season without losing a match," Laker explained, dispelling any illusions of perfection in such a competitive league. "The three losses weren’t good enough, but we learned from them and came back much stronger."
The Stormers' 32-19 triumph over the Bulls, who were riding high on a four-match winning streak, not only halted their rivals' momentum but also catapulted the Stormers from sixth to second place on the URC log. Laker emphasized the unpredictability and competitiveness of the league, saying,
"It just shows again you can’t write anyone off. If we follow our plans and structures, we can beat any team on the day – we just have to make sure we play to the best of our ability and don’t do silly things."
The crux of the Stormers' success was highlighted by a critical two-minute period after half-time. Despite the Bulls' relentless attacks, the Stormers held firm. "I’m really proud of that sequence," Laker remarked. "They had us under pressure and we defended for about 20 phases without conceding a penalty or making mistakes. When they didn’t get points there, I knew we were in the right space."
Springbok playmaker Damian Willemse echoed the sentiment of improvement and learning, attributing the turnaround to rectifying past errors. "We put ourselves under pressure in those games – conceding penalties and defending too much in our 22. That makes it easy to leak points. But credit to the coaches and players, we worked hard on those areas and it showed at Loftus," Willemse shared.
The return of experienced players like Neethling Fouché, Deon Fourie, and Ruhan Nel was pivotal, according to Willemse.
"It was massive having the senior guys back. They bring calmness, physicality, and leadership, and that lifts the whole team."
He also praised the forwards for their dominance, which was instrumental in securing front-foot ball and set-piece supremacy.
With the Bulls match in the rearview, Laker confirmed that the team's focus has already shifted to their upcoming encounter with the Dragons in Cape Town, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining momentum: "We’ve done the review and moved on. Now it’s about backing it up."
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Norman Laker, the Stormers' defence coach, candidly dismissed the myth of an unbeaten season in the Vodacom URC, following a robust comeback victory against the Bulls. After suffering three consecutive derby losses, the Stormers reasserted themselves at Loftus, proving their resilience and capacity for learning from their defeats.
"You must be naive as players and coaches to think you’re going to go through a URC season without losing a match," Laker explained, dispelling any illusions of perfection in such a competitive league. "The three losses weren’t good enough, but we learned from them and came back much stronger."
The Stormers' 32-19 triumph over the Bulls, who were riding high on a four-match winning streak, not only halted their rivals' momentum but also catapulted the Stormers from sixth to second place on the URC log. Laker emphasized the unpredictability and competitiveness of the league, saying,
"It just shows again you can’t write anyone off. If we follow our plans and structures, we can beat any team on the day – we just have to make sure we play to the best of our ability and don’t do silly things."
The crux of the Stormers' success was highlighted by a critical two-minute period after half-time. Despite the Bulls' relentless attacks, the Stormers held firm. "I’m really proud of that sequence," Laker remarked. "They had us under pressure and we defended for about 20 phases without conceding a penalty or making mistakes. When they didn’t get points there, I knew we were in the right space."
Springbok playmaker Damian Willemse echoed the sentiment of improvement and learning, attributing the turnaround to rectifying past errors. "We put ourselves under pressure in those games – conceding penalties and defending too much in our 22. That makes it easy to leak points. But credit to the coaches and players, we worked hard on those areas and it showed at Loftus," Willemse shared.
The return of experienced players like Neethling Fouché, Deon Fourie, and Ruhan Nel was pivotal, according to Willemse.
"It was massive having the senior guys back. They bring calmness, physicality, and leadership, and that lifts the whole team."
He also praised the forwards for their dominance, which was instrumental in securing front-foot ball and set-piece supremacy.With the Bulls match in the rearview, Laker confirmed that the team's focus has already shifted to their upcoming encounter with the Dragons in Cape Town, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining momentum: "We’ve done the review and moved on. Now it’s about backing it up."