AUDIO: Bok star to make life difficult for Stormers?
SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers will be in a world of pain if they don’t sort out one key area of their game ahead of their clash against Irish juggernauts Leinster.
The Capetonians are coming off a 22-31 defeat to Racing 92 in their final Champions Cup pool match. It’s probably safe to say that the line-outs were a major topic of discussion in their team meetings before their next clash in Dublin.
Racing 92 was a disruptive force in the line-outs and they managed to steal possession away from John Dobson’s side on several occasions.
The Stormers eventually ended the match with a 63 percent success rate in the line-outs.
Leinster will be without locks James Ryan and Joe McCarthy for Saturday’s Round 10 URC clash due to Ireland commitments ahead of the Six Nations, but they will have Bok star RG Snyman available for the clash.
Snyman has established himself as a force in open play with his offloading game and he could also be a thorn in the Stormers’ side come line-out time.
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“We are the first to admit that we were not good enough in the line-outs,” said Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwan1.
“Racing had done their prep really well and they gave us a few pictures that we had not seen. We didn’t adapt as well as we were meant to.
“We have moved on from it and we have learnt from it and we don’t want to make the same mistakes again. We definitely need to be better in that area.”
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Hlungwani also stepped in to defend his locks.
“All three guys [Stormers locks] are very good players,” he added.
“Salmaan [Moerat] is a Springbok and he is very physical. JD [Schickerling] and Ruben [van Heerden] both have high workrates.
“All three of them can call line-outs.
“The challenge last weekend was that we played a very good contesting team. It had nothing to do with the personnel that we selected.
“If you look at our stats, we are probably still in the top three in terms of line-out success in the URC.
“In terms of the three guys, it is a very tough selection and we will challenge them and say that whoever plays the best, will get an opportunity.”
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