Prop Neethling Fouche, pictured, and boss John Dobson insist a return to natural grass won't magically solve the Stormers' breakdown issues against a dangerous Cardiff this weekend. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
The Stormers insist there will be no complacency heading into their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Cardiff Rugby at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (3.30pm kick-off), despite suggestions that a return to grass could favour the Cape side after their recent defeat on Cardiff’s 4G surface.
Director of rugby John Dobson and prop Neethling Fouche both stressed in a press conference on Monday that the focus has been firmly on fixing the shortcomings exposed in Wales, rather than searching for excuses.
“We are prepping for a team that beat us two weeks ago, so we have to be better,” said Fouche. “They were better than us. They picked us off on defence.
"There’s no real chat in the group or from the coaches about, ‘we’re playing on grass now, we’re not playing on 4G’. That can make you rest on your laurels. It’s about having plans and executing them.”
The Stormers battled to gain control at the breakdown during the defeat in Cardiff, with Welsh loose-forwards repeatedly disrupting their ball and slowing momentum. Fouche admitted that area would again be central to the contest.
“They got the better of us,” he said. “Dan Thomas got the better of us and their captain also got one or two steals. We’ve looked at that.
"As players, you have certain roles going into a breakdown and you have to execute those roles. They were quite street smart around when to go and when not to go, so we’ll have to be ready for that this weekend and know there’s going to be a breakdown battle.”
Fouche also dismissed the idea that Cardiff would suddenly become a lesser side away from artificial turf.
“Cardiff are a good rugby team and they’re in the top six for a reason,” he said. “It’s not like the wheels come off when they run onto grass.”
While much of the discussion around the Stormers recently has centred on the return of Springbok stars such as Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi, Dobson believes the bigger challenge lies in rediscovering the consistency and accuracy that underpinned their best performances earlier in the season.
The Stormers coach pointed to their struggles converting opportunities inside the opposition 22 as a major issue, feeling they were justified in the high number of quick taps.
“We get the second-most 22m entries in the whole competition, but our points per entry isn’t high enough,” said Dobson. “That’s an obvious one we absolutely have to get right.”
Dobson argued the Stormers still possess many of the hallmarks of a title-contending side, particularly around defence and the set piece, but admitted key details had slipped in recent weeks.
“Set piece-wise we're top, top, top,” he said. “Defensively, I think we’ve conceded the least amount of tries in the competition. But our challenge is around 22m conversion.”
He also highlighted inconsistencies in the kicking game and lineout as areas needing urgent improvement.
“We have to ensure consistency around our set piece, that we get the scrum penalties and win the kick-metres battle, so I think our contestables will go better,” Dobson said. “We lost the kick metres badly in Cardiff.
"If you look at what it takes to win championships, it’s defence, set piece and the kicking game. Those are the areas we are acutely aware of. We'd also like to put opposition lineouts under a bit more pressure than we did in the last couple of weeks,” Dobson concluded.