Stormers steering in right direction
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee believes that his side's victory over the Brumbies shows that they are heading in the right direction.
His side produced a physically dominant, as well as technically astute, performance against a side that dismantled the Sharks only a week prior.
Coetzee was delighted with his teams performance: "Very happy with the win, a fantastic effort especially after the bye week to get the bonus-point win shows great character by the team.
"All 22 players have to be on the same page and I think we were all on the same page tonight.
"The players pitched tonight, they have to pitch against quality sides and I am very proud of them," Coetzee added.
The coach acknowledged the defensive strength of the Brumbies and noted that his side showed great determination and drive on attack.
"The Brumbies side had only conceded two tries before this match and it just shows that, especially in the first-half, we were very accurate and played in the right parts of the field and we executed."
"It is a great effort to be able to score four tries against such a quality defence."
The Sharks were not able to dominate the collision against the Brumbies and the Stormers were, this went a long way in helping them gain the ascendency.
"The biggest thing despite tactically and technical things we were very imposing on the gain-line, we really dominated there on defence and on attack."
This dominance of the contact point meant that the Brumbies could not get that quick, crisp ball that they got last week which allowed players like Ben Mowen and Fotu Auelua get over the advantage line.
The Stormers bench played a vital role in the victory and Coetzee was relatively happy that the plan for his bench was a success.
"The plan was to get players like Nic Groom, Deon Fourie, Pat Cilliers, Nizaam Carr and Jaco Taute to bring a bit of energy.
"I think they did that but I would like to see less mistakes and get them to strike the killer blow," Coetzee stressed.
A positive for the Stormers mentor was the influence that Elton Jantjies had on the game.
"He [Elton Jantjies] is improving every game, there were a few things like Gio's [Aplon] try and Andries Bekker's try that confirm why he is such a good attacking player."
Another player that impressed was Gerhard van den Heever, who has been patiently waiting in the wings, and with the long-term injury to Bryan Habana he seized his opportunity with both hands on Saturday.
"Gerhard [van den Heever] was always positive and he got his opportunity now and that is why he has performed like that."
The Stormers host the Crusaders next weekend in what is historically just as much a home game for the Crusaders as it is for the Stormers.
"We are at home to the Crusaders and will make sure that we prepare well.
"They are a quality side as you can see now, they are hitting their straps and they attack clinically and take the ball through a lot of phases.
"They play with a lot of width and are not scared to attack from their own half," the coach added.
Coetzee understands the nature of the Super Rugby beast all too well.
"The nature of the competition is that, if you want to win it you have to beat all of these teams so next week is another big challenge but one that we are looking forward to."
By Nick Tatham
