Proudfoot wants 'robust' Stormers
Stormers forwards coach Matt Proudfoot wants his team to be more direct and physical when they face the table-topping Hurricanes on Friday.
After a four-match winning start to the season, which saw the Cape Town franchise sit at the top of the table, they have slumped to eighth place – after successive defeats to the Chiefs and Highlanders.
It was the latter, a 21-39 loss in the opening match of their Australasian tour, which concerned Proudfoot most.
He suggested the team did not show the same intensity on the road as they normally do at home.
While the quality of their set pieces – scrums and line-outs – were positives to take out of the game in Dunedin.
However, it is the lack of consistency and the lack of aggression in the tackle situation that most disappointed Proudfoot.
"That wasn't good enough for me and I would like to see more aggression from the pack there and make it a little bit difficult for opposition to play against us," the Stormers' forwards coach said in a teleconference call from the team's training base in the South Island resort of Queenstown.
"We will look to be more robust in the tackle situation," Proudfoot said of his team's approach to Friday's encounter with the tournament pace-setters, the Hurricanes.
"I would like us to be more aggressive, particularly in New Zealand, when we need to pick and go and play short around the edges.
"Part of our evolution as a pack is to be robust."
The return of Springboks Duane Vermeulen (who was rested last week in line with a South African Rugby Union request) and Eben Etzebeth, who made satisfactory comeback from injury in the second half against the Highlanders, will be key to the Stormers' hopes of bounding back in Wellington.
"They are Springboks and they are both up front," Proudfoot said, adding: "They are a big part of what the pack stands for.
"The standards they set are incredibly high and it is nice having guys like that are internally motivated and help the younger guys set those standards.
"These guys [Vermeulen and Etzebeth] help me set that standard."
The Stormers' forwards mentor said there are certain aspects of their game they need to balance out and need to improve on.
"One of the areas we want to improve on as a pack is the robustness of our tackle situation.
"It is imperative that the way we defend at Newlands is the way we defend when we are away from home.
"That is something I will be striving for this week, which is imperative to the balance in our game."
The Stormers team, to face the Hurricanes, will be announced on Tuesday.
The tour squad will travel to Wellington on Thursday.
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
