Stormers need to shut down and score

Watching the Crusaders on old video replays or on Youtube is an interesting experience in what it tells you about the long time Vodacom Super Rugby champions.

People are fond of saying that the current Crusaders team plays rugby from a different planet. And there’s no argument about that. What is arguable though is that it is just happening now. The Crusaders have always been on a different level, and a look back at the tries they have scored over the past decade will prove it.

So it is understandable then that the task of stopping them can cause such angst for opposing coaches and, in particular defence coaches. It brought an interesting quote this week from Stormers defence coach Norman Laker ahead of Saturday’s big derby - sorry, not really a derby, but it does feel like one.

“You don’t race against Michael Schumaker in a Fuller,” said Laker.

Actually apparently that word should be ‘volla’, which my Afrikaans friends tells me is slang for a clapped out old Volkswagen Beetle. But it came across as Fuller in my tape recording of Laker’s press interview at the side of the training field at the HPC in Bellville the other day. Either way, you get the drift.

The point Laker was making is easily understandable. It translates into “You don’t play the Crusaders at their own game”. Meaning obviously that you tread with care, keep your own mistakes to a minimum.

But you also can’t be too conservative, and you do need to score tries. Laker admitted as much when he made the point that the Sharks had done well with their defence in Christchurch a couple of weeks back even though they had conceded three tries. His point being that the Crusaders’ attacking game is that good that you have to rule out the prospect of a complete shut-down.

The Crusaders were without Richie Mo’unga and Ryan Crotty against the Sharks, and their game management was up the pole, for want of a less blunt way of putting it. The Sharks kept them from having ball for periods of the game too. But the Crusaders still scored three tries against a team that was so committed to the rigid, pragmatic and defence orientated approach that they never threatened to score a try themselves.

The Stormers will not beat the Crusaders by just kicking penalties, and in that sense it was encouraging that Laker referenced the Springbok win over the All Blacks in Wellington last year more than he did the Sharks when referring to what the Stormers need to do.

It was Nick Mallett last year who put a number to the points you need to score if you want to beat the All Blacks. I think it was 32.

The Boks did defend brilliantly in that game, but they also scored tries. They won the game because they were good enough at creating opportunities with the possession they did win to exceed Mallett’s magical 30 odd points.

The Stormers are the last South African team to get a chance in the regular season to make any kind of point against the Crusaders. The Sharks made half a point in Christchurch - you do need to shut down, or shut out, the top Kiwi sides, to suffocate them with your defensive system, to stand any chance.

They didn’t win the game though, so while a shut down at Newlands is an imperative, meaning that the Stormers have to bring their best defensive game if they are to have any chance of winning, they also need to do what they did against the Rebels in Melbourne. They need to create scoring opportunities from the possession they do win.

There will have to be more to their game than there was for instance against the Hurricanes in Wellington a month and a half ago, a day where they dominated first phase but just lacked the variation to their game that would get them across the line.

The Stormers do have the pack to trouble the Crusaders. They have the big ball carriers to make a lot of ground up the middle. A Stormers win would not be the miracle that many people think is required. Not in a home game. Not if they have a plan that they won’t deviate from and they stick to.

One thing is clear though, and the Sharks coach Robert du Preez said it before Christchurch - they are going to have to be on operation shut-down for a full 80 minutes. But add something too it. They will need to score tries.

We’re set for an absorbing weekend, with the Bulls needing to throw everything into the Australian leg of their tour if they want to return with enough points to still be in conference contention when they head into their final match of the season, which is a home derby against the Lions. The experienced duo of Duane Vermeulen and Handre Pollard won’t be there for the Newlands leg.

Friday’s game in Wellington will also tell us whether the Jaguares will be the threat they are shaping to be. They lost their first tour game, they need to win this one or they are going to struggle to maintain a proper challenge for the conference title.

The Lions were no better than workmanlike against the Waratahs last week, but they will be looking to create some home momentum when they host the Highlanders, who like most New Zealand teams outside of the Crusaders and Hurricanes have been up and down this year.

Weekend Super Rugby fixtures

South African conference

Hurricanes v Jaguares (Wellington, Friday 09.35)

The Jaguares came back well in the second half against the Highlanders and nearly stole the result. There was enough there to suggest they could trouble a Hurricanes team that has been comfortably the second best in the competition but which still blows hot and cold during matches.

Prediction: Hurricanes by 5

Rebels v Vodacom Bulls (Melbourne, Friday 11.45)

The Bulls are all hands on deck for this game and rightly so. It has to be the game they are targeting as it won’t be easy once they lose the experienced Vermeulen and Pollard to the Bok resting protocols. They have Warrick Gelant back and have a definite chance of beating the Rebels, but the big question is what impact the big defeat at Loftus last week had on the Bulls’ morale. Also will the Rebels make the same mistake in this game that they did against the Stormers, or will they vary their approach?

Prediction: Rebels to win by 8

Emirates Lions v Highlanders (Johannesburg, Saturday 15.05)

Will the real Lions please stand up. From the outside the Lions are a confusing team this season. They put it together on Good Friday against the Chiefs, they have been strong in patches, but for the most part they have been as hot and cold as the Chiefs have. And for that matter the Highlanders. Usually you’d say the highveld is the big advantage for the Lions. But it hasn’t always been this season. The imperative for them in this game is to dominate with their pack and improve their defence, something that has let them down often this season. They going to be without Warren Whiteley. Which is bad news.

Prediction: Highlanders by 5

DHL Stormers v Crusaders (Cape Town, Saturday 17.15)

References to the Liverpool win over Barcelona from the Stormers administrators were a bit disingenuous for obvious reasons, but there is one point that lends it some credibility - the Stormers are in a situation, like Liverpool were that night, where they aren’t really expected to get anything out of the 80 minutes. Defeat would not be the disaster it would be against another team, and that might, just might, translate into the positive energy and freedom that could lead to a famous victory.

Prediction: Crusaders to win tight game.

Australasian conferences

Blues v Chiefs (Auckland, Saturday 09.35)

Prediction: Blues by 5

Reds v Waratahs (Brisbane, Saturday 11.45)

Prediction: Reds to scrape it.