Two world class scrumming packs will be up against each other when the DHL Stormers host the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Cape Town on Saturday and how that contest turns out could play a big role in determining the result - but there’s something that is potentially even bigger. The home team’s driving maul has become as if not more feared than their scrum.
Both Sharks scrum coach Philip Lemmer and their Springbok prop Ox Nche spoke about how fearsome the Stormers scrum is, and how dangerous it could be in Saturday’s game.
And Lemmer, although he spoke earlier about how big the scrum contest would be, and so it should if you look at the Boks who will be involved with both teams, made it clear that he and his men had a lot of respect for the damage the Stormers could do if they do get their maul going.
“Their maul is very strong and we know how their mauling gives them an advantage by eating up many metres,” said Lemmer.
“They are very physical with their maul so the lineout is just as big a threat as their scrum. They love a mauling, physical battle and it is what they pride themselves on. We know what is coming at us on Saturday.”
IMPORTANCE UNDERLINED IN DIAMETRIC OPPOSITE WAYS
Indeed, the first two Stormers games of the season have in diametric opposite ways underlined the importance of their maul to their chances of success. In the opening game in Galway it was when they went more direct and relied on their maul that they effectively played Connacht out of the game in the second half after they’d trailed at halftime.
And then came this past week’s game against Edinburgh, a game which should have given the Sharks an indication of what is needed to render the Stormers a lot more toothless and take a significant step towards winning the game. Pressurise them at source, meaning the lineout, and then the maul can’t get going.
The scrum was dominant at The Hive and it was why the Stormers were in the game enough to only lose by four points. But there was a spectacular malfunction at the lineouts after Bok capped hooker Andre-Hugo Venter, man of the match against Connacht by some distance, had to leave the field due to head injury protocols.
Venter is expected back this week, and listening to Stormers defence coach Norman Laker speak it appears the Stormers coaches felt if the protocols around concussion weren’t so stringent he’s have been able to play on in Edinburgh. But as part time international hooker Deon Fourie, who is likely to play flank if he does play against the Sharks, reminded us, there’s much more to the lineout than just who throws the ball in.
CAPE TEAM DIDN’T HAVE A SETTLED LINEOUT FORMATION
And in the wash-up to the game the Stormers may well have looked at aspects such as the co-ordination between lifters and jumpers and the general communication. Riley Norton is a highly promising young player who has already worn the Springbok jersey in a non test cap game against the Barbarians and will probably go on to become a great Bok.
But against Edinburgh he was making his first appearance at his preferred position of lock after being forced to play blindside flank in his Stormers debut match.
Stormers coach John Dobson probably has some thinking to do about who his locks and loose-forwards will be. Is Ben-Jason Dixon fit? If not, will he go for Hacjivah Dayimani at No 7, assuming of course Evan Roos is fit enough to return to his regular No 8 position (he was down to play No 6 against Connacht before his injury but with Siya Kolisi, Paul de Villiers, and Fourie all available that shouldn’t be necessary against the Sharks).
With a relative newcomer in Louw Nel on the blindside and Kolisi playing his first game for the Stormers in five years plus Dobson mixing up his regular locks by playing Adre Smith off the bench to accommodate Norton as a starter, the Stormers lineout formation that played against Edinburgh could hardly be described as a settled combination.
For a start, the also injured Marcel Theunissen has been a big feature of the Stormers lineout in recent seasons, and that is in addition to the continued absence of regular blindside Dixon.
SHARKS GOT IT RIGHT LAST YEAR
Whatever the reasons for the Stormers misfire in Edinburgh, and all the above is mentioned because Fourie is right when he says it is unfair to lay all the blame on Venter’s replacement, Vernon Paulo, the Sharks and Eben Etzebeth will be going all out to pressurise the Stormers lineout on Saturday.
They did it successfully in the Cape Town game between the two sides last January so you can probably turn around what Lemmer said about the Sharks knowing what’s coming - the Stormers also know what is coming. They will be spending a lot of their time in the buildup to Saturday’s game focusing on setting right what went wrong last week.
One thing is clear, if they do win their lineouts the Stormers maul has been in formidable form, as evidenced not only by the way Connacht were played off the field after halftime but also in the pre-season tour game against the All Blacks, which was where much of the ensuing narrative of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between the Boks and Kiwis was set.