After a near perfect start to the season at lineout time the DHL Stormers experienced a bit of a wobble against Munster, but forwards coach Rito Hlungwani feels it was a minor issue in comparison with the significant gains made since the return of JD Schickerling from Japan.
The 29-year-old Schickerling is a versatile player who is equally at home at No 4 as he is at No 5 lock, and Hlungwani believes that there was a timing issue that brought about the unexpected malfunction in the first home Vodacom United Rugby Championship game of the season against Munster at DHL Stadium at the weekend.
Schickerling started as the lineout caller for the first time since he returned to Stormers colours, and Hlungwani believes it was that, rather than the aggression shown by Munster in the lineouts, that led to “five or six” lineouts going awry whereas the Stormers had returned from their three-match overseas tour with the best lineout stats in the competition.
“It wasn’t really about Munster, it was more about our issues, rather than the pressure that Munster put on us,” said Hlungwani in an online media session on Monday.
“There weren’t any lineouts that they stole, whereas on the other side of it, we stole quite a few of their balls. It was just an issue with our timing. We had a change in caller. JD hadn’t called in the first three games and Ruben was on the bench (against Munster). So there were just some small timing issues and that’s quite easy to fix.”
Since his return, Schickerling has been a standout for the Stormers, issuing a weekly reminder that apart from being a big contributor himself when he carries, he is also a great maul stopper.
And he has contributed to the Stormers turning over quite a few crucial opposition lineouts in their own 22, with the Stormers now more prepared to contest than they were in the past.
“Quite a few teams are starting to do that now (being prepared to take the risk of trying to contest rather than set up in preparation for the opposition maul). JD has been massive, and I cannot emphasise enough the quality that he has brought in. Particularly in our defensive lineout. We spend a lot of time working on contesting lineouts and it balances out our work on attacking lineouts.
“JD takes a lot of pride and interest in that analysis and he has given us a big nudge up in terms of how we contest the lineouts. We have improved in that area a lot compared to the last few years. I am quite excited to see how far JD can push it. He’s passionate about contesting lineouts, even though he also enjoys being the caller at times.
“He and Adre Smith have embraced the role of contesting and defending lineouts, making sure that the standard is similar to our attacking lineout. He has really improved us quite a lot.”