With their hopes of reaching the Carling Currie Premier Division playoffs hanging by the thinnest of threads, the Stormers XXIII are planning to sharpen up their attacking strategy when they face a Bulls XV on Friday, coach Tom Dawson-Squibb says.
After slumping to a 29-17 loss to the Pumas in Mbombela, the Stormers know only maximum points at Loftus Versfeld will be enough to breathe life into their ailing campaign.
The Cape side are sixth on the eight-team log with 11 points to their name after notching two wins in their opening five matches.
“I’ve got to give credit to the Pumas, they were able to blunt our attack nicely,” Dawson-Squibb said.
“There’s probably one or two little technical things we can change up in just our execution of our attack.
“We had lots of opportunities in the 22 against the Pumas.
“I never doubt this team’s will and desire to play for each other. It’s actually amazing.”
The Stormers will field a revamped side to face the Bulls after Stefan Ungerer and Jean-Luc du Plessis left the field with injuries against the Pumas.
“I’m not sure in my coaching career if I’ve had a game where we’ve had five guys off with proper injuries before the 50th minute,” Dawson-Squibb said.
“I think that affects the rhythm in any team.
“But having said that, we continued to play and create chances despite the setbacks.
“Now want to go to Loftus with energy and be proud of our performance.
“I’m pretty sure there’ll be some enforced changes this , but that might give us some really nice energy and impetus where guys get opportunities.
“Individually, it’s been a really progressive campaign. I know that’s difficult to hear because we haven’t won the games we want to.
“I think we had an opportunity against Cheetahs to win that game and we didn’t. And then against the Pumas, we probably didn’t have the opportunity.
“But if you look at the chances created, it was quite high. And I think there are some key areas of our game that didn’t quite fire as we would have liked them to.
“And that’s what we’ve got to work on.”
The race for the Currie Cup Premier Division semifinals tightened further in round five, with the defending champions Griquas underlining their status as front-runners.
The Boland Kavaliers produced a stirring comeback in Johannesburg, the Pumas continued their upward curve in Mbombela, and the Cheetahs won a thriller in Pretoria to stay in the top two.
It was the Kavaliers who delivered a strong second-half performance to triumph 38-29 over the Lions at Wits Rugby Stadium in the first match of the weekend on Friday afternoon, ending their two-game away losing streak.
Griquas then flexed their muscles in the next game, outplaying the Sharks XV 55-21 in Kimberley.
With five rounds now completed and just two remaining, Griquas remain top of the standings on 21 points, with the Cheetahs on 21 points, but the Free Staters are ahead on points difference.
The Pumas (third on 17 points) and Boland (fourth on 16 points) also remain firmly in the playoff mix after bonus-point victories.
Weekend fixtures:
Friday: Pumas v Griquas, Bulls XV v Stormers XXIII, Sharks XV v Lions.
Sunday: Cheetahs v Boland.
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