If anyone thought the DHL Stormers might be happy with for once leaving Belfast after a game against Ulster without having been beaten they should think again. The review after the penultimate Vodacom URC league game was brutal and the visitors viewed the draw like a loss.
Every now and then a press conference is fronted by people who are more glum and downbeat than the usually critical media, and the one at the start of the buildup week to Friday night’s regular season finale against Cardiff was one of those. Towards the end of the online hookup, almost every question was prefaced with something like “You guys are being hard on yourselves, but on the positive side…”.
This time it wasn’t obsequiousness that drew that line, but an objective look at the facts. The Stormers have only ever lost away against Ulster before and this time they didn’t. They got three points out of a maximum five. Surely not enough reason for a sackcloth and ashes atmosphere?
But Stormers defence coach Norman Laker was adamant. He acknowledged the 38-all result meant the Stormers are still in the fight for top spot on the log, and a second placed finish, which is where they are now, would still leave them in a strong position, but he had just come out of a particularly severe review session where the honesty had been brutal. Plus, of course, he is in charge of defence - and the Stormers shipped six tries in the game.
“WE LET OURSELVES DOWN”
“The review was quite a brutal and I think we have learned a few lessons on how to deal with this stage of the competition,” said Laker from Cardiff.
“We are constantly learning, both players and coaches, but that wasn’t our best. We let ourselves down in that game. We did stuff that was not planned and we also did not do stuff that we trained to do and planned to do. We have got to remember what got us here.”
That last line is similar to that pushed by many pundits and media people at various points of the season following a five match overseas winning sequence playing a game that emphasised control that was followed by a diversion from that template, particularly in home games where there appeared to be more of an emphasis on chasing flash in an attempt to entertain.
And for sure there was an element of that in Belfast, although there were also mitigating factors, such as the rather freaky fact that there wasn’t a single scrum put in for the Stormers in the entire game, Ulster’s success in blunting the Stormers’ maul, and then the other aspect that they’d rather not use as an excuse but is nonetheless a reason - the unfamiliar 4G pitch.
The Stormers have always struggled on the artificial surface, and while they have won some big games on 4G, they admit it is still something they are getting used to.
“We had good plans for the 4G surface and we always say before the game that we have been here before but the reality is that it is very different to grass,” said Laker.
Although the Stormers have beaten Connacht and Stade Francais in recent years on 4G pitches across the URC and Investec Champions Cup, their run of five wins overseas between October and the beginning of December were all on grass pitches.
NOT PREPARED TO RUN WITH A POSITIVE SPIN
Given all of that, plus the unfortunate injury to the captain on the night, Deon Fourie, surely there was something positive to draw on? But Laker wasn’t eager to take the bait and run with a positive spin.
“I am the defence coach, the tries for and against was very high, but for me there was two much against (Ulster scored six tries) so for me there isn’t much to be positive about,” he said.
“The ball in play was good, we showed a lot of character in coming back and playing to the final whistle to force that last penalty try when Leolin Zas was going over in the corner. But what is that old saying (about draws)? It was like kissing your niece or kissing your sister. We weren’t happy with it. We went to Ulster to get a win.”
When later he was given another gap to spin the positive, he continued on the theme, “We weren’t satisfied. Those were not our standards so we definitely have something to improve on going into the playoffs.”
Laker added that there was no specific area where he felt the team let themselves down as it was a general failure to be on point that prevented the Stormers from leaving Belfast with the five log points they were coveting.
“I don’t think we can pick out a department the needs to be better, whether it be attack or defence etc. We would like to see the ball moved around and if you do knock the ball on I as defence coach would expect us to stop them (from attacking us with the turnover ball). It is a team sport and as a team we need to ensure we are sharp every week.”
STILL IRRITATED WITH THE INCIDENT THAT INJURED FOURIE
The Stormers will be without Fourie in Cardiff, with Laker not hiding the fact that the squad was still livid at how the injury had happened (a croc roll that saw Ulster skipper Iain Henderson get a 20-minute red card), but otherwise there were no additional injuries to add to the list after Ulster.
“All I can say is that Deon came off with a brace (on his leg) and he is flying back to South Africa to undergo a scan so that he can get a diagnosis,” said Laker. “It is a concern because now we have lost three captains (Ruhan Nel is injured and Salmaan Moerat is still on his way back).”
He says Cardiff play a similar style of running game to what Ulster do and that the Stormers know where they need to better. They should be too because they will be both more acclimatised to being in the northern hemisphere by Friday than they were in last week’s game, which was played just two days after arriving from South Africa, and also now have 80 recent minutes of rugby on a 4G pitch behind them.
“Look, I have just come out of a quite brutal review so maybe that’s why I sound negative,” he conceded. “I was disappointed, we conceded too many tries. But our attack was good as we scored five. Our 4G plans were good, so that adds to the disappointment. We prepared so well and ended with a draw. Yet our forwards carried really well and so did the backs.
“There were positives - we had 100 per cent lineout efficiency and no scrums,” he added with a sheepish grin.