Stormers taking positive pressure into Crusaders game

Some would have seen the Crusaders’ big performance against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus as an ominous warning to the DHL Stormers and reason for them to be quaking in their boots, yet in some ways it might be just what the Cape team needs ahead of Saturday’s match at Newlands.

While they are bottom of the South African conference log with five matches to play, this weekend’s eagerly awaited clash with the tournament champions and front-runners is still not a make-or-break for the Stormers. There are just five points separating top from bottom, and the leading team, the Sharks, have played one more game than the other sides.

“It is not a make or break for us yet, but it will be important for us to get in a good performance to set up a good run through the remaining four matches that will enable us to challenge for a place in the play-offs,” said Stormers centre JJ Engelbrecht at the start of the build-up week.

“Maybe in another year it would be make or break time for us already, but this year has been so odd, and the log so tight, with the teams being so up and down and messing up everyone in Superbru. So even if we lose on Saturday we will still be in it.”

What comes across from Engelbrecht is that victory is not a non-negotiable for them if they want to compete for the conference title, at least not in the sense that it may have been for his former team the Bulls last week. While the Bulls were playing the last match before a four match tour of Australasia, the Stormers still have three home games after this one.

But what is clear is that he and his teammates know a win will be a massive step forward for the Stormers. In terms of what it will do for their confidence as well as log position, if they get it right this could be the game that propels Siya Kolisi’s men into a position where they could become conference favourites.

And the margin of victory for the Crusades against the Bulls, plus the lessening expectation, might just play into the Stormers’ hands by creating positive pressure rather than negative pressure.

An example of negative pressure might have been their Easter Saturday confrontation with the Brumbies, when they went in with the pressure knowing that a loss would be a big setback on their home field. That is not the case against the Crusaders, who are the one team you’d expect to be able to go to Newlands and claim a win.

“That’s exactly it,” says Engelbrecht. “There is positive pressure on us this week, this is a game we are very motivated for and after coming back from our bye we are refreshed and are confident we can do well against them. We know it is the biggest challenge of the season so far but looking at the log, and what a win will do for our confidence, this is also a game where we can take a great step in the right direction.”

Although the Crusaders made light work of the Bulls in Pretoria, Engelbrecht reckons the game the Stormers can take heart from was the Sharks’ performance in drawing against the Crusaders in Christchurch the previous week.

“The Bulls had defensive efforts last week and also seemed to struggle with the tempo in their game. We will be hoping we can get the tempo right, and then put in a good defensive effort. Apart from a penalty try and a few individual slipped tackles, our defence has been very good recently, and that will be important against the Crusaders, who like to run the ball and play attacking rugby based around offloads.

“We thought the Sharks got it right against them in Christchurch, where they played very well to draw the game. The Sharks’ defence was brilliant in that game and we have taken some heart from what they were able to manage to do,” he added.

Engelbrecht is the one Stormers player who has beaten the Crusaders before. While the Stormers haven’t won against them since 2010, Engelbrecht was part of a Bulls team that won in Pretoria a few years back.

“I wouldn’t be able to say whether they are a bogey team for us or not because I have only been playing for the Stormers the last two years, but I wouldn’t say that is the case. We are confident, and that is the most important thing against them,” said Engelbrecht.

The centre will start his third successive game at the weekend following the injury to Ruhan Nel in the build-up to the recent home derby against the Bulls and he will play a big role both on defence and attack. As much as the Stormers’ defence has to be on point to handle the Crusaders’ attack, so the Stormers are going to have to be composed with ball in hand against a Crusaders team renowned for its suffocating press defence.

It was that aspect of play that pushed the Stormers out of their comfort zone and set the Crusaders up for a big win over the Cape team, their biggest defeat in recent years, in Christchurch in 2017. However, Engelbrecht feels dealing with the Crusaders’ impressive linespeed will be easier now.

“Most of the teams now apply press defence so it is becoming easier for everyone to handle as we are becoming more used to it,” he said.