Super Rugby Reaction (W)Rap: Stormers set standard

Robbie Fleck’s Stormers were the most impressive South African side in the first weekend of Super Rugby by some distance.

Good tactical awareness and surprisingly decent execution were features of the Capetonians’ performance, especially during the first half of a 37-24 victory over the Bulls.

But injury headaches are a concern … and it’s not only confined to the Stormers.

Champagne rugby from the Stormers but there are hitches

Given their fairly dominant performance, the last thing the Stormers would’ve wanted was a disruption to their squad.

However, that will be the case as Springbok centre Damian de Allende is potentially out for an extended period.

“He suffered an ankle injury and I don’t want to get into it until we know the extent of the injury but from the initial news we received, it does not look good,” said coach Robbie Fleck.

Also read: Enterprising Stormers claim deserved derby win

Scottish international Huw Jones is back next week though and rookie EW Viljoen impressed in his makeshift position.

“Injuries are part of the game. EW made some excellent decisions. He will now play a big role for us,” said Fleck.

The Stormers also need to keep their concentration levels up after slacking off after half-time.

“Maybe it was a little bit of enthusiasm that got the better of us but it’s small things and we can fix it,” said Fleck.

Bulls can’t expect to run with the ball if they are so poor in the set-pieces

Nollis Marais’ side are on a journey towards playing more attractive rugby.

But as they neighbours the Lions will tell them, you can’t do that without a good platform.

“Rugby remains a basic game where you need to do the small things better than your opponents – maul, set-pieces, scrums,” said Marais.

“We have the game and we have the players but if you want to play against the best, you need to do the small things right.”

He was encouraged though by his troops scoring 24 points in the second half.

Rohan Janse van Rensburg might just avoid a common sickness

Second-season syndrome is a real threat and many sportsmen have been victims.

The 22-year-old Lions centre, who had breakthrough year in 2016, has carried his form into 2017, scoring two tries in a tough 28-25 win over the Cheetahs.

Johan Ackermann, his coach, hailed him being a “X-factor player” and that’s encouraging.

But there’s work ahead for last year’s runners-up.

Also read: Lions scrape through against Cheetahs in low quality scramble

“The Cheetahs showed some shortcomings in our game. We haven’t played a lot together so I’m happy to have won,” said Ackermann.

Depth at centre will be affected as the Lions have lost Howard Mnisi for nine months with a knee injury.

It’s a big loss.

Franco Smith, Ackermann’s counterpart at the Cheetahs, rued his side’s inexperience.

“The players need to realise their Super Rugby players now, not a Currie Cup or varsity side.”

Kings can’t just start and end well

There were times during the Kings’ 26-39 loss to the Jaguares that they really didn’t look like one of the weaker sides.

Coach Deon Davids  believes that was due to them playing well in patches.

Also read: Brave but limited Kings fall short against Jaguares

“We started and ended well but in-between there was rhythm lacking,” he said.

Another problem is that the men from Port Elizabeth need to make sure they use their experienced props to dominate the scrums.

That didn’t happen.

“There needs to be quality ball from the set-pieces. If we kick, we need to apply pressure. We also need to play rugby in our opposition’s half. It’s about being balanced,” said Davids.

Sharks only need to minimise their mistakes

It was close but no cigar for the Sharks as they lost 26-28 to the Reds in Brisbane.

But for long periods, they led on the scoreboard and made use of their counterattacking opportunities.

Mistakes at crucial times sunk them.

“We had to make more tackles that we would have liked and our discipline wasn’t as good as we hoped for. We did show character there but just disappointed we didn’t get our hands on the ball enough and attack more,” said captain Pat Lambie.

If that can be turned around, the Durbanites could be good this season.

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