Stormers won't sing the blues
It will be much of the same for the Stormers when they take on the Blues at Newlands on Saturday, despite the New Zealanders posing a bigger threat than the Bulls.
The Cape side's forward pack put in a dominant effort in Pretoria but will face a steeper challenge as, according to forwards coach Matt Proudfoot, the Blues have "a pack of forwards who are more than capable of playing Test rugby."
"New Zealand teams tend to bulk up when they come to South Africa so I'm expecting a very big and aggressive pack to play against us and we are looking forward to the challenge and growing as a pack. We respect Newlands and the crowd, so we know that responsibility is on our shoulders and we need to live up to that.
"It's going to be a tough challenge. They have a lot of All Blacks in their side and have a massive pack of forwards. We understand the challenge but this is why we play this game. We want to play at Newlands against a quality opposition and that's what we have this weekend," he said.
The Stormers put in a massive scrumming performance against the Bulls at Loftus in the opening round of the competition but will come up against a side who pride themselves on their set-piece execution.
"Their [Blues] technique execution and the height at which they scrum is different but there are also certain nuances they're really good at. They have a good scrummaging philosophy and the players have ownership on those systems, so for me, the big challenge is going to be the height of the scrum and how our tighthead controls the right shoulder.
"They boast 110 All Black caps in their pack, so if that does not get the juices flowing then nothing will. The first game [of the season] does not define a season but we need to continue performing as a team and that's what the directive is and what we work incredibly hard on.
"We remain a work in progress but the guys are developing nicely into a senior pack and will continue to develop further. There is a lot more we can still do and achieve but we are getting to the point where they [the Stormers pack] are becoming seasoned pros. We are feeling confident in our abilities at the moment but we will never get to the point where we are arrogant and say we are going to smash any side.
"We will continue to focus on improving as a unit and not focusing on what the opposition brings. Our forwards need to continue to reach the goals they have set themselves and take ownership of their responsibilities in the game," he added.
Proudfoot made special mention of his front and feels they are relishing the opportunity of displaying their skills and power at scrum time.
"Bongi [Mbonambi] made an immediate impact and I was happy for him to play well on his return to Loftus. Skara [Ntubeni] continues to be a warrior for the team and it's nice to see them feed off each other and have them pushing each other.
"When a young guy, like Vincent [Koch] is motivated to take a shot at life, that's a powerful force and I'll support him and give him everything I can to perform at this level. He is good guy who just needs to be nurtured and I will give him all the technical support I can to push him to his limits.
"The front row knows that scrum-time is their time to shine and the great thing is that they are taking ownership in this facet of the game. When players are integrally involved in each of the set-pieces, they take ownership and push each other.
"Every week is a challenge for these guys and all the pillars need to be delivered. The big changes we see is in the maturity of the players and realising the importance of creating a an environment for them to grow," he stated.
By Tauriq Ebrahim
@tagels03
@rugby365com
