The Stormers are in a crucial battle with Leinster tomorrow evening in Cape Town to keep their spot among the top eight teams in the United Rugby Championship.
A few things went wrong last weekend against the Ospreys that the home team will want to set straight at the Cape Town Stadium (7.05pm kick-off) as they look to get their campaign back on track.
Independent Newspapers looked at three critical areas in their game they have to be better at to push them to victory...
Getting that scrum dominance
They’ve been on the receiving end of some tough calls against them when it comes to scrummaging, and the last time they had some proper dominance was way back against Ulster and Steven Kitshoff.
In the past couple of games, though, and most recently against the Ospreys, the Cape side struggled to get their main weapon going forward.
Veterans Frans Malherbe and Brok Harris were the props, but somehow they just could not get the dominance they created against Kitshoff and his Ulster teammates.
As was the case last weekend, if the scrum is not firing on all cylinders, it’s difficult for the Stormers’ backline to strut their stuff.
Leinster will certainly look to shut down this weapon of the home team, which will mean half the battle for the visitors would be won.
A few big milestones at DHL Stadium on Saturday as Brok Harris reaches his DHL Stormers 150 and Marcel Theunissen hits 50 along with Evan Roos. Looking forward to a special night.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 25, 2024
🎟️ Get your tickets https://t.co/1sjJ1AF9gX#STOvLEI #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/z7qqi5eGXp
Hot potato flop
The Stormers are known for giving the ball air more than most of the teams in the tournament. They haven’t really digressed from that attacking point of view, and that mindset will continue.
But the way they were chucking the ball around without almost any regard shows how they got their plan wrong against the Ospreys.
Yes, there were some magical tries, but that came through patience.
They can create space out wide to be dangerous on the attack, but for that to happen, they have to send the ball carriers up the middle first to suck the defence in. That did not happen last weekend.
If the Stormers go into tomorrow’s clash chucking almost every bit of possession around, even after a tackle, they can brace themselves for another loss.
🏟️ The DHL stadium is set to erupt as @TheStormers and @LeinsterRugby collide 💥
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) April 25, 2024
Will we see another tense drawn affair? 👀#BKTURC #URC | #RaceToTheEight | #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/G7SuJPrvP6
Break even at the breakdown
Leinster will have seen the Stormers’ breakdown woes in the past couple of games, and they will know that is probably one of the areas they can target to put the home side under pressure.
And unlike the Ospreys, if the Irish team get proper ball possession from the rucks, they can and will punish you. So, a better performance in this regard is needed from the Cape side.
They are without a recognised fetcher in the injured Deon Fourie, and the indications are that fellow No 6 flank Nama Xaba won’t get a look-in this weekend after a good display against the Ospreys.
So, it will be up to the big loose forwards Evan Roos and Ben-Jason Dixon, as well as the locks, to disrupt their opponents at the breakdown. An improved performance at the breakdown will help their quest.