RUGBY: Stormers supporters.

Snormossel said:

/Me runs with big orange flag past the Stormers camp shouting VRYSTAAT!!!!

//Me run even quicker now.

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spiderz said:

Stormers suporters, there's actually things like that

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Grant lined up as Stormers saviour

Stormers coach Kobus van der Merwe looks set to react to the latest defeat by making big changes for his team’s next Vodacom Super 14 clash with the Chiefs at Newlands on Friday night.

Van der Merwe is under intense pressure following two successive defeats which have left the Stormers in last position on the log with no points. Even more disturbing is the fact that they have played 160 minutes of rugby without scoring a try, and in neither game did they look like scoring one.

The lack of the creativity in the Stormers game-plan has posed questions about Van der Merwe’s ability to coach at this level. His Western Province team excelled in the first half of the Currie Cup last year, but defences are a lot less organised in the domestic competition.

Up to now the Stormers have shown little signs of any plan, unless shovelling the ball across the field in the hope that a gap will suddenly open up passes for strategy.

Van der Merwe though has now acknowledged that he has too many game-breakers and strike runners in his team and not enough grafters in his outfit. And this realisation looks set to cost Eddie Andrews, Schalk Brits, Joe van Niekerk, Naas Olivier and perhaps Corne Uys their places in the starting line-up for the Chiefs match, plus perhaps one of the locks, Gerrie Britz or Andries Bekker.

Brok Harris and Tiaan Liebenberg are expected to come into the front-row, with Francois van der Merwe added at lock. Robbie Diack will play at No 8, with De Wet Barry being recalled at inside centre, with Jean de Villiers moving from inside centre to outside centre.

The big surprise, however, may come at flyhalf, where Peter Grant now has the inside track for the position filled by Naas Olivier in the opening two matches. Olivier was poor in both starts, and although many critics would back Brent Russell to take his place, Grant would appear to have the better credentials for the more direct, physical game that Van der Merwe has in mind.

“We have had a long, hard look at it and we have realised that the way the Super 14 is being played this year we are going to have to bulk up and pick much tighter players,” said Van der Merwe.

“I have gone over the video of the Force game a couple of times and it has become obvious to me that there are far too many guys in this team who want to receive the ball, and not enough players who want to go in and get the ball. We need to strike the right balance.

“We cannot have a team just made up of game-breakers because it just doesn’t work. We need to have some grafters, players who can work at setting up opportunities for the game-breakers. We need quality first-phase ball, we need momentum, and we need the players to understand who the fetchers are and who the cleaners are.”

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Monday is D-Day for WP

will be up to the administrators to get rugby in the Western Province back on track when the union's executive committee members meet on Monday.
They will consider a proposal that the powers of the union's director of rugby be extended.

If they say yes, Nick Mallett will be responsible for the appointment of coaches and the contracting of players.

And that is likely to signal the end of Kobus van der Merwe's reign as Stormers coach.

The team's 35-24 defeat against the Highlanders at the weekend provided Van der Merwe's critics with new ammunition.

Mallett wanted to change the coaching structures after last year's Super 14 competition but was unable to do so. It remains uncertain whether the executive will grant him more power.

Western Province have not showed much progress since Mallett was appointed in 2005. His judgment is also not generally accepted in all quarters.

The former Springbok coach could argue that there would have been more progress had the others listened to him in the first place. However, few administrators seem willing to allow him to reappoint Alan Solomons as Stormers coach.

Solomons was the most successful coach the Stormers have had but he is unpopular within the union.

He is being utilised as consultant by the International Rugby Board and should be available if the WP administrators decide to employ a new coach.

CROSSROADS

The meeting on Monday will therefore also decide Mallett's future at WP. His position will be undermined if he is not given more power. It will then make no sense to retain his services.

However, the union's rugby has reached the crossroads and solutions to the problems have to be found urgently.

Whether Mallett can provide the solutions will be debated. He was, after all, involved in the appointment of the coaches he wanted to dismiss.

Many Western Cape rugby supporters would like to see Mallett roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty but it is well known that he does not want to coach in South Africa again.

The loyal WP supporters’ base could be eroded if the losers tag is not discarded quickly. As it is, the Stormers are still at the bottom of the Super 14 table after their defeat against the Highlanders.

Adding to the problems are concerns about hooker Schalk Brits, who has a knee injury and faces a scan on Monday to determine its severity.

Van der Merwe said on Sunday that Huia Edmonds would join the squad if Brits had to return home.

Uncertainty also remains about the availability of wing Egon Seconds, who has a hamstring injury.

However, Conrad Jantjes is expected be fit to play against the Hurricanes this week. If he passes a fitness test on Monday, he should be at fullback in the starting line-up for the match at Palmerston North.

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