Stormers wary of hitting rough seas
The Stormers may be sitting pretty near the top of the Super Rugby standings, but they are aware the smooth-sailing ship can be sunk in the blink of an eye.
With a perfect three wins from three starts, the Stormers find themselves in second place – one point behind the table-topping and also unbeaten Hurricanes.
However, with two tough hurdles to come – the under-performing, but very dangerous Sharks and Chiefs, both in Cape Town, in the next fortnight – that unbeaten run is not guaranteed.
Coach Allister Coetzee admitted that must ensure they continue to build their capacity or it could all come crashing down.
"It is important we keep building on that,"he said of his team's three-match winning start to the season.
"You don't want a good start and slip away in the middle [of the season] or towards the end.
"We have set targets for ourselves for the first five games, before we get our first bye – as it is we are on course."
The Stormers mentor said the next two games, both at home, are very important for them – especially this coming Saturday against the Sharks.
"It is a big challenge against a top side," Coetzee told a media briefing in Cape Town, adding: "Although they lost against the Bulls [last Saturday] we are not reading anything into that," Coetzee said of a Sharks team lost two of their first three matches of the season.
He added that his on team will need to show a "huge improvement" in terms of their game from last week's fortuitous 22-19 win over the Lions.
"We want to see a big improvement in our set piece play – both in the scrums and line-outs.
"I have also spoken about the need to improve our breakdown play, where we didn't get the reward in order to build on our continuity and attack.
"We had the intent, but a few bad habits crept in and we need to sort it out this week."
He said it is not a case that they are three-from-three and everything is hunky-dory.
"Teams can be at their most vulnerable when you think everything is in order.
"This is the time to get the fundamentals right."
