Africa-Press – South-Africa. Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker says they’ll be more conservative in their team selection approach in the European Champions Cup.
The Bulls gambled with a largely second string outfit in their Champions Cup opener against Lyon at Loftus last weekend.
Many pundits dubbed it a Bulls “B team” but director of rugby Jake White’s gamble paid off as his charges ran into a 28-0 lead in the first half.
The French side came back strongly though and almost snatched a win at the death when they camped on the Bulls tryline, before going down 42-36.
Laker, whose Stormers outfit lost 24-14 away to French club ASM Clermont Auvergne, said playing a so-called “B team” will always be a gamble.
The Stormers defence guru was probed on the matter in a press conference on Tuesday. He was cautious to reveal how the Stormers would juggle the workload over two competitions (URC and Champions Cup).
“We haven’t thought that far ahead, to be honest. If it works for you then it works for you, if it doesn’t come off, then the spectators won’t like you that much,” Laker said.
Laker used Irish giants Leinster as an example of a team that remained competitive throughout both competitions last season.
“I know the URC and Champions Cup are two different competitions. But I think Leinster is a perfect example from last year… getting into a semi-final of the URC and making the Champions Cup final.
“I’m not saying we’re Leinster, I’m just saying it can happen. I do think we’ve rotated our squad quite well over the first nine games [of the season]. I think we’re the only team that actually haven’t picked the same XV for the past nine games. We did give guys opportunities.
“In our case we would rather build depth in that way… [by] giving guys opportunities with experienced guys than just making a total new team.
“But by saying that, [the Bulls] had Bismarck du Plessis and Morne Steyn in that team who are phenomenal and world-class players. You can’t ask for more experience than that in any team. I think those two guys can drive a team by themselves.”
The Stormers host English club London Irish at Cape Town Stadium this weekend and Laker promised his charges would shore up their defence.
The Stormers led 14-3 at half-time against Clermont but defensive lapses saw them fail to score points in the second stanza.
Laker said he expected a slightly different challenge this weekend.
“One thing that will be completely different is that it won’t be minus two degrees. Their 12 (Benhard Janse van Rensburg) is a very good rugby player, as well as their left wing (Ollie Hassell-Collins) and fullback (Ben Loader). If they get the ball in space then they can cause damage.
“But they’re much more structured than the French team was. The French team gave the ball a bit more air. They had a bit of a hope and pray mentality when giving the ball out to those big Fijians.
“London Irish are much more structured. They’ve got guys who run good lines, good blockage lines and guys who can pass good from the back.
“So, I think it’s a bit of a different challenge this weekend but I don’t think it’s much different to what we’ve experienced in the URC. Edinburgh, Connacht are two teams who play similar.
“One thing that they do well is they keep [possession] of the ball very well, but we’re looking forward to the game.”
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Despite the loss in France, centre Ruhan Nel said they would still take positives from the encounter.
“We didn’t win at the end but to lead 14-3 at half-time [away at Clermont] was a big feather in our cap. We’ll have a look at how we [should] approach the second half. I think it is a bit of a lapse in concentration. But we’d rather take lessons from our first match before perhaps learning it later in the playoffs.”
Nel said he was relishing the prospect of facing London Irish.
“Like us, they like giving the ball some air. So we shouldn’t play dumb [rugby] by giving possession away easily or kick poorly, or to give them unnecessary turnover possession so they can exploit that space.
“But I’m looking forward to it, it’s nice playing against a team that likes to give the ball some air,” Nel said.
Saturday’s clash kicks off at 19:30.
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