Stormers enter 'play-off' mode with season hanging in the balance
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers XXIII assistant coach Dewald Duvenhage said his team will go all out against the Bulls XV in Round Six of the Currie Cup to keep their play-off hopes alive.
The Stormers come off two consecutive defeats against the Cheetahs and Pumas, respectively, and are currently in sixth position on the Currie Cup table, with their season hanging by a thread.
A win is non-negotiable against the Bulls this weekend, who, despite being stone last on the table, produced some great attacking rugby in recent weeks and pushed the Cheetahs close to losing by 10 points after being 30 down at the break following a strong second-half comeback.
Duvenhage admitted that it’s all or nothing for the Stormers this week to have any say in the play-off picture heading into Round Seven when they’ll face the Lions in Johannesburg.
“We’re looking forward to this particular game; obviously, it’s the second-to-last game of the round [robin],” Duvenhage said
“Where we are currently at [on the log], we want to win to give us a chance before the last game against the Lions, so we’re going full out for it.”
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The former Stormers scrumhalf said they’ll treat each game as a play-off match over the course of the next two weeks.
“Yes, definitely [we will treat it as a play-off run]. Obviously, we need to win this game. We’ve been improving throughout the campaign,” Duvenhage told Rugby365.
“The main thing for us is developing the players, and I feel we did it – every game we’re getting better and better.
“Against the Pumas, I felt we did really well in terms of territory and possession, where we had 60 percent in both departments and only conceded eight penalties, which is something I’ll take.
“It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t get the result, but we are improving as a team as the weeks progress.”
The Stormers’ inability to convert pressure into points have been their downfall throughout this campaign, especially against the Pumas, where they only scored 0.6 points for the 11 22-metre entries they made compared to the Pumas’ 4.3 points in just six entries.
Duvenhage conceded that it is a massive concern and it’s something the team will work hard on to correct against a dangerous Bulls side who know their way to the whitewash.
“Of course [we want to correct that stat], especially against the Bulls, who are quite high up in terms of their efficiency in the 22 as well.
“The Bulls are an amazing team, and we need to improve our conversion rate [in the red zone]; we want to improve all parts of our game, but especially that part.
“The Bulls are second in terms of tries scored this season behind Griquas and have several amazing backs with nice feet, and they’ll probably get some experienced forwards back up front for this week.
“We’re really looking forward, and it will be a big challenge for us in our goal to go out and get into the play-offs.”
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