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Time to give Fleck some credit

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    Posted: 29-Apr-2019 at 12:29pm

By Gavin Rich

It is unfortunate for the Stormers and their coaches that the bizarre decision by a player that gifted their opponents a bonus point should become a talking point after a riveting Vodacom Super Rugby derby because it obscured an excellent performance from the home team.

It has also detracted from what should also have been the Newlands post-match focus, which was the perfectly scripted plan put in place by Stormers coach Robbie Fleck against a Bulls team that had savaged his men in the first round game at Loftus.

So much invective was sent Fleck’s way after that big defeat that it would be remiss of critics now not to acknowledge that in this most recent game the Bulls were out-coached as much, if not more, than they were outplayed.

Forget the one-point winning margin. The hooter had sounded when Handre Pollard lined up the penalty that was aimed at garnering his team a losing bonus point, not winning the game. The Stormers were ahead by eight, and that was probably a fair reflection of their advantage on the day. The Bulls acknowledged afterwards that the try given away through sheer Stormers onfield stupidity by trying to run the ball from their own tryline rather than dotting down to end the game was a gift.

A PLAN THAT CAME TOGETHER

The Bulls were not outplayed in the same way that the Stormers were in Pretoria. That day was the one and only day this season where you could say that the Stormers did a Sharks by just not pitching at the races. The Bulls did pitch, and they actually exceeded what should have been the expectation in the set-scrums.

Let it be said that both Trevor Nyakane and, perhaps even more so, Lizo Gqoboko, did their chances of playing international rugby this year the world of good through their excellent performances in their primary roles against a Springbok-laden Stormers unit.

That the Stormers were still able to get it together without their scrum having the massive ascendancy they enjoyed in the corresponding game last year though only makes the tactical exactness of the coaching staff more praiseworthy.

The Stormers recruitment has been a bit loopy over the past few years in the sense that there is a dearth - actually a complete lack - of specialist fetchers at the union, but in this game they found a way to blunt the twin threat posed by Duane Vermeulen and Marco van Staden. The Stormers won the breakdown battle.

The Bulls were up for the game. They knew they were going to be hit by a furious Stormers opening assault. They just struggled to live with it.

In particular, they struggled with aspects of the Stormers’ tactical game, much like the Stormers did in Pretoria a few months back. It should have been obvious to anyone seated at Newlands that the Stormers had detected a vulnerability in the Bulls’ make-up, and they profited handsomely from their probing kicks and down the left flank, as they did when they passed the ball in that direction.

The Stormers won the aerial game handsomely. It was a direct contrast to what happened in Pretoria. And it wasn’t the first time the Stormers have won a key derby through good planning and tactical nous either.

When they went to Durban to play the Sharks in the third round the Sharks were the team everyone thought were the local side to beat. The Stormers turned that on it’s head by out-thinking and out-coaching them.

RUMBLINGS ABOUT COACH’S FUTURE MAKE NO RUGBY SENSE

There are continuous rumblings in the Cape about Fleck’s immediate future. Even though it has already been decided that this will be his last season in charge as he comes to the end of a cycle with the player group he started out with, there are lobby groups who want him out earlier than that, and it seems there is a sword of Damocles hanging over him before each match.

Those lobby groups are driven by agendas that have nothing to do with rugby, for dropping Fleck now just doesn’t make any sense. John Dobson, destined to take over next year, has said quite categorically that it is not in his or the team’s interests for him to take over now and he doesn’t want that.

Fleck has a new coaching group working with him, he is the only coach in that group with extensive Super Rugby experience, and the newbies want to learn as much as they can from him.

Those who have an inside view into the camp will also tell you that it is a happy and focused one, and if you can’t already tell it by the effort they put in, you will also be told that there is no question that the players support the coach and want to play for him.

Yes, after their great win over the Rebels they lost to the Brumbies narrowly at home, but they made errors that day that cost them against a freakishly committed Brumbies team. They definitely weren’t out-passioned, to use a word often used by Sharks coach Robert du Preez, who would probably open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate if his players played with the intensity the Stormers did in that game.

To put that Brumbies game in context, the Stormers played it with an understrength team. Just like they beat the Rebels in Melbourne with an understrength team the week before. Against the Bulls they had key players back, and we are not just talking forwards, but their most experienced and influential back, Damian de Allende, who had to be rested as per the Springbok protocols in the Brumbies game.

De Allende’s absence, and given that Jean-Luc du Plessis needed a rest, meant the Stormers started the Brumbies game with a new flyhalf and new inside centre. It played a role in their failure to convert opportunities.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING THE THREE POINTERS

The Bulls also sent out a reminder to the Stormers in this latest game of what they did wrong in that previous one. The Stormers should have put the Bulls away in the first half, such was their dominance, but there was just a five-point gap at the break. The reason? The Bulls kicked for posts every opportunity they had, so the Stormers’ two converted tries were almost cancelled out.

That’s enough dwelling on the Brumbies game. Suffice it to say, that it was the sort of result that happens in Super Rugby. The only game overseas where the Stormers were poor this year was the one against the Reds.

They lost narrowly to the Hurricanes in Wellington, and the Hurricanes are second only to the Crusaders this season, and they were also good against the Blues, who have become formidable again on their home field.

The Brumbies showed against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires this past weekend that they are not a team to be trifled with. They lost, but let’s not forget the Jaguares gave the Sharks 50 in Durban not that long ago.

WELCOME RETURN TO WINNING WAYS

Talking of the Sharks, they made what their fans would consider to be a welcome return to winning ways against the Waratahs, a result that was not entirely unexpected. In fact, many people who know the Sharks’ Jekyll and Hyde personality did predict it.

There can be no debate that it was an important result for the Sharks, but what to make of it? First up the positive - Jean-Luc du Preez does make a difference when he is present. The blindside flank is a world class player, he should be in Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ plans even though he appeared to be out of favour at the end of last year. The Sharks are a better team when he starts.

But given that the Waratahs were down to 14 men for almost the entire second half, and for a while 13, it has to be said that they laboured a bit, and that should temper any euphoria. No-one has ever denied that the Sharks can beat any team anywhere on the day.

In fact, that is the problem. Everyone knows they are capable of more, which is why those many days when they just seem to be flat and lacking in motivation and effort are such a concern.

They face a proper litmus test when they head now across the Tasman Sea to play the Crusaders and the Chiefs. They simply can’t afford another of those off days, particularly against the Crusaders. They may be emboldened a bit by the Chiefs’ recent form - if any coach was under pressure at this point it should be theirs - but the Sharks still have plenty of their own questions to answer.

Curwin Bosch played a solid game in his first start at flyhalf since Robert du Preez junior moved back to Durban at the end of 2017. He didn’t set the world alight, and you wouldn’t expect him to do as he hasn’t played his preferred position for a while, but his game management was good and his field kicking played a big part in the win.

Given that the word nepotism is suddenly appearing in headlines to Durban newspaper stories about the Sharks, it was perhaps unfortunate that coach Du Preez brought his son Robert junior on after an hour and switched Bosch back to fullback.

Du Preez may have had good rugby reasons for the move, but it just didn’t look good, and the concerns about having a coach who doubles as a parent are valid ones.

If you look at the Sharks’ selections over the last 18 months, the flyhalf position has been the one that has seen the least selection rotation and change, and that is quite damning for those who want to defend the coach. Ultimately it needs to be acknowledged that Du Preez put himself in a difficult position when he contracted his son back from Cape Town.

A PREDICTABLE WEEKEND

Overall it was a Super Rugby weekend that produced what was expected, far more than had been the case in previous weeks. The Newlands result seemed to surprise some but it shouldn’t have - the Bulls haven’t won in Cape Town since 2011 and there is probably a reason for that.

The Lions haven’t won in Christchurch since goodness knows when and there is a reason for that too.

What couldn’t be faulted was the effort the Lions put in though and given that they were missing both Warren Whiteley and Malcolm Marx, who we now know are both hugely influential, they shouldn't be written off from being strong contenders when they start their run of games on South African soil after this bye week.

DERBY RESULTS POINT TO WHO IS BEST LOCALLY

Right now though, a look at who has won and lost the big derby games might be the best way to decide the best local teams as the log-jammed conference tells you nothing at this point and all five sides are in with a chance of winning it.

The Bulls have played five derbies and Cape Town was their first defeat. They have also won two away, so they probably deserve to still be regarded as the top South African challenger.

The Stormers would be second on the basis that they have lost just one derby in four starts, and of course scored that important away win in Durban. The Lions have lost all the derbies they have played, and the Sharks’ win in Johannesburg was their only derby win, so those two would by my reckoning be bringing up the rear.

WEEKEND RESULTS

Crusaders 36 Emirates Lions 10
Sunwolves 0 Highlanders 52
Hurricanes 47 Chiefs 19
Waratahs 15 Cell C Sharks 23
DHL Stormers 24 Vodacom Bulls 23
Jaguares 20 Brumbies 15

https://www.supersport.com/rugby/super-rugby/news/190429_Time_to_give_Fleck_some_credit


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