AUDIO: SA teams need to win on the road
SUPER RUGBY REACTION: Winning on the road and scoring more tries. Those are key aspects South African teams have to improve on if they want to be serious title contenders.
This is the view of two-time championship-winning Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
He fronted up to the media after his team played to a 19-all draw with the Stormers at Newlands at the weekend.
The 2019 season hasn’t done much to allay the perception and Robertson’s assertion that SA teams are poor travellers.
In New Zealand South African teams have one win and a draw from six matches this year.
In Australia the record goes from a 17 percent success rate to 60 percent – with SA teams winning three of their five matches on the road.
In contrast, the Crusaders got seven points – a bonus-point win over the Bulls in Pretoria and a draw with the Stormers at Newlands – during their trip.
The Chiefs also beat the Bulls (56-20) in Pretoria during their trip to South Africa.
“I think it shows the big challenge for South African teams, to win on the road,” Robertson said told a post-match media briefing at Newlands.
“The Bulls have done that [win on the road] for the first time in a long time,” he said of the Bulls’ (32-17) win over the Rebels in Melbourne at the weekend – the first time since 2016 they have won in Australasia.
“I think the stats the Stormers have won two away games in the last 15 games,” he said.
The Stormers beat the Rebels (41-24) in Melbourne last month and their only other away win since 2017 was over the Sharks (16-11) in Durban in March this year.
“[They are] tough to beat at home,” Robertson said of the Stormers – currently last in the SA conference and 12th place overall.
“Once they do that [win on the road], they’ll give themselves the opportunity to get home quarterfinals and semifinals,” he said, adding: “[They will be able to] really contest for [a] Super Rugby [title].
“If they show the same intensity – like they did [at Newlands at the weekend] – on the road, they’ll be extremely tough to beat.”
Robertson also said the Stormers will need to learn how to score more tries, if they are to be a serious championship threat.
“If they come with that attitude and intensity, they will be tough to beat. [However,] they are going to have to score more tries, there’s no doubt about that.”
The Stormers have scored just 23 tries in their 12 matches this season, the least of all 15 teams. They’ve let in 33 tries.
“You have to defend well, but also be able to score tries. That is part of the game they have to grow.
“Certainly, with the tactics that they have, it keeps them in the game, just like the Sharks,” Robertson said of his team’s 21-all draw with the Sharks back in May – a game in which the South African team scored seven penalties and the Crusaders three converted tries.
* Meanwhile the Crusaders will be sweating over the fitness of All Black captain Kieran Read, who was a late withdrawal from the Newlands encounter at the weekend.
“He tweaked his neck at training [last] Thursday,” the coach said, adding the All Blacks skipper Kieran Read should be available to play the Blues in Christchurch this coming Saturday.
“It was only minor, but we played the safe card and made sure for the rest of the season. We decided not to play him. It was just minor.”
The 33-year-old veteran, in his last year with the Crusaders and All Blacks, had major back surgery at the end of the last year and easing him through until after the World Cup will be a major priority.
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