Stormers dropped like flies in Hong Kong ‘war zone’
Coach Robbie Fleck opens up on how his charges struggled with dehydration and heatstroke following a shock defeat to the Sunwvolves.
Stormers’ Seabelo Senatla (back) scores a try during the Super Rugby match between Japan’s Sunwolves and South Africa’s Western Stormers in Hong Kong on May 19, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Philip FONG
Heinz Schenk
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck isn’t looking for excuses after their shock defeat to the Sunwolves but has questioned the wisdom of playing Super Rugby so close to summer in Hong Kong.
The Capetonians had to contend with extreme humidity and the aftermath was so bad that the players and coaching staff didn’t even bother with Monday’s planned training session.
Fleck described the dressing room as a “war zone” after the match.
“We had three or four guys on drips after the game and I think three forwards suffered from severe heat-stroke,” he said.
“We didn’t train today because a number of guys haven’t recovered from the game.”
So urgent was the need for the Stormers players to rehydrate at half-time that Fleck couldn’t even get a customary motivation talk in.
“Walking into the changeroom at half-time, it literally looked like a war zone. Boys were in ice buckets and had cooling towels,” said the Stormers mentor.
“Nothing was said for a couple of minutes and the boys had to rehydrate pretty quickly. The conditions were the same for both sides but certainly extreme. It’s something that I was not accustomed to.”
Despite all parties agreeing that Hong Kong’s first Super Rugby match was a success, the wisdom of scheduling the battle for 13:15 local time has been widely questioned.
It’s understood, however, that Sanzaar was forced to do so because the stadium’s floodlights weren’t up to standard.
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