Stormers target Sharks' Bok trio
The Stormers feel they have the 'muscle' to measure up to the Sharks' all-Springbok front row.
The two teams will go into the all-South African Super Rugby semifinal at Newlands on Saturday level-pegging at one-all in their head-to-head encounters this season.
While the Stormers have ben commended for their resilient defence, the Sharks have dominated most teams in the scrums – through the Bok trio of Tendai Mtawarira, along with the Du Plessis brothers Bismarck and Jannie.
Stormers forwards coach Matthew Proudfoot said the will considered beefing up their front row for the visit by the team from Durban.
It all depends if burly loose forward Duane Vermeulen is fit to play.
"If Duane [Vermeulen] doesn't play, we will go with two props on the bench to combat that [the Sharks' scrums]," Proudfoot told this website on Tuesday.
"The first game we played them, we were pretty good there [in the scrums]," Proudfoot said of the Stormers' 15-12 win in a tryless encounter at Newlands back in March.
The return match saw the Sharks gain a measure of revenge by scoring a 25-20 victory in Durban in May.
"We are going to look to replicate that [performance, back in March]," the Stormers' forwards coach said, adding: "We have focussed a lot on where we were successful against them and recreate those sort of situations.
"We have done well against them this season and we want to try and get back there so that we can replicate that performance."
Another crucial aspect of Saturday's Newlands showdown is the ability of the Sharks' big ball carriers to get over the advantage line.
"They do have a lot of them – Bismarck [du Plessis], [Willem] Alberts, [Ryan] Kankowski, [Keegan] Daniel and [Marcell] Coetzee," Proudfoot said, adding: "They have a lot of big ball carriers that are all similar, giving then a lot of momentum.
"The key aspects of the game are going to be the contact situation and the breakdown – that is what we have really focussed on as a team, controlling those situations."
The Stormers, who have been blowing hot and cold throughout the season, are also aware that in the play-offs nothing less than an 80-minute performance will suffice.
"What we have spoken about as a squad is resilience," Proudfoot said.
"A semifinal is about pressure and they are a fantastic side, they deserve a spot in the semifinal and they are one of the best teams in the competition.
"They are going to put us under pressure at times, they have a fantastic pack … a fantastic front row.
"[The question is"] Can we respond to that?
"If we make a mistake, how do we respond? Do we allow them to get on top of us or do we put pressure back onto them.
"When we talk of an 80-minute performance, I don't think there will be a lack of effort in the semifinal.
"However, I think it is how well we respond when we are maybe under the cosh a little bit … stay in the game.
"We must stay in the game like we did against the Bulls and when the opportunity come we must take it."
By Jan de Koning
