Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani says that they will have their lineout sorted out by the time they face the Sharks in their rematch in Durban on Saturday. Picture: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images The Stormers are aiming to up their game in the lineouts for their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby rematch against the Sharks at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday evening. The Sharks stunningly endedthe Stormers’ eight game winning start to the current URC season with an emphatic 30-19 win in Cape Town last weekend.
There were a number of problems fromthe Stormersside that led to the disappointing loss, but one of the biggest was their misfiring lineout which was picked apart by the Sharks during a dominant all-round set piece showing. Numerous times the Stormers set up lineouts inthe Sharks22m area only to have the ball stolen, or botch the throw in some way, which didn’t allow their usually dominant maul to get going. On the one occasion that they did successfully secure the ball and get the maul rumbling, they powered towards the line and earned a penalty try after it was pulled down illegally.
Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani this week admitted that they weren’t up to scratch, and that they were thankful they had the chance to immediately rectify the problem in the rematch in Durban. “It was definitely not the standards that we usually chase. The Sharks prepared well, but two skew throws close to the tryline has nothing to do with the opponent,” explained Hlungwani.
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“An overthrow and a poor lift have nothing to do with the opponent. It is about things on our side of the court which we must improve.” “It (playing a double header) gives you an opportunity to quickly deal with the challenges you faced and fix the mistakes instead of waiting three or four months for another crack at them. It’s a unique situation that probably suits the losing team.
You can quickly deal with your demons.” A big boost for the Stormers heading into the match will be the likely return of powerhouse eighthman Evan Roos, who missed the previous game due to a hip pointer injury, and he will be tasked with doing a lot of the grunt work on Saturday. “Evan is definitely someone we missed. He is very powerful, has a high work-rate and keeps us going forward,” said Hlungwani.
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