It has been an embarrassingly poor Currie Cup to the halfway stage. After starting with a bonus point win over the Lions, we have lost the next 5 in a row! The Lions are hopeless, and the fact that they are below us shows that this was a failure in some respects in conceding 36 points!
Since then, we have gone from bad to worse, and haven’t even looked likely to win, even against Griquas and the Pumas. Our basics have been our downfall. Handling errors are so repetitive you have to make sure you aren’t watching a replay. Our scrum has been folded consecutively, against the lesser lights too.
I have really tried to be positive but have had to revert to humour in some places just to keep sane! The matches are often at really inconvenient times in Mongolia, which makes the poor performances that much harder to swallow.
One of the positives is that Paarwater has been able to keep the selection fairly settled. The players will surely be gaining tremendous experience, even in defeat, many of whom have only been Varsity Cup players before now.
Fullbacks
Tristan Leyds
I find it unbelievable how elusive he is considering his slight frame. There is no way he does legs at gym. In saying that, he never shies away from contact, in attack or defence and has been the source of some of our best moments. Leyds always seems to beat the first couple of defenders and is loath to kick from the back. He is always smiling, which considering how much we have lost, is strange but maybe that’s just me.
Wings
Sergeal Petersen
Sergeal has flattered to deceive so far this season. He is the most experienced and decorated player in the squad and we need him to step up and take more responsibility in this stuttering backline. He is a great finisher and always a threat with ball in hand, although his aerial skills are sometimes hit and miss. He needs to step up in the second round of fixtures.
Angelo Davids
Another wonderful finisher at the union and his bouncing (and ritual humiliation) of Rosco Specman will be my abiding memory of the Currie Cup. This sequence, where Davids finishes off a manic sequence of play has to be seen on YouTube with Xhosa commentary! We missed him when he went off v Pumas. Let’s hope it isn’t serious as he has been our most electric player, albeit in a losing cause.
Leolin Zas
Has featured on occasions but is well and truly part of the eye catching Stormers side and he has been great for them. He must be relieved to be with the senior side after being involved in some of these harrowing defeats!
Centres
Mnombo Zwelendaba
I find it difficult to rate him properly as he seems so peripheral in every game. I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt and more time considering the potential and strength in the centre the Stormers have. Waqar Solaan of Maties may be pushing him soon.
Cornel Smit
Another solid if underwhelming campaign so far. He clearly doesn’t take a backward step on the field, but is often guilty of trying too hard or forcing it, which then leads to mistakes. With the Stormers team being so settled, he has time on his side, let’s hope he uses it.
Rikus Pretorius
Rikus has mainly come off the bench this season, in both the Currie Cup and the URC. He has produced pieces of magic when he has been on the field but hasn’t had enough time in Currie Cup action to make a real impact. I thoroughly enjoy this player and he will be important for the Stormers through to the playoffs. A proper player.
Flyhalves
Tim Swiel
Steady with the boot is his metier, but sometimes needs to do a bit more to get the backline going. He can perhaps be accused of standing too deep at times but is always looking for something inventive to get the backline firing. His cause has not been helped by a pack who is constantly under pressure at scrum time.
Kade Wolhuter
Kade has started the last couple of games at flyhalf and is still making his way back from a very serious knee injury. He hasn’t found any real form yet and it is probably best to let him find it in the Currie Cup rather than unsettle the URC side who are performing so well. Plenty more to come from him, watch this space.
Scrumhalves
Godlen Masimla
Masimla frustrates the hell out of me with the amount of basic mistakes he makes. Knock ons from line-outs, charge downs (in the first move against Griquas), missed tackles. In his defence, he was a threat vs the Pumas around the rucks with 2 half breaks. Then he gives away a silly yellow card and we concede straight away and give up the momentum we had built. MUST DO BETTER!
Thomas Bursey
Bursey was an age group star but has struggled in senior rugby. I am not at all convinced that he can be the heir to Herschel Jantjies. Whilst young, he has a mistake in him and needs to be more demonstrative on the field.
Loose Forwards
Marcel Theunissen
His beard needs shaving. He has fallen down he pecking order and out of favour with the Stormers and one can see why. One of the more experienced players in the Currie Cup side but has had little or no influence on the game recently. He is too light to carry and his tackles are often ineffective. Must do better.
Keke Morabe
One of the few players to have enhanced his reputation. Impressive in the carry and complements the loose trio well. His hard running has helped set up play before we have inevitably knocked the ball on. He can stay and will get better. A real threat from the base of the scrum.
Nama Xaba
The captain must be finding these results incredibly difficult to continue explaining, especially by the annoying Cato Louw! He is a constant jackal threat at the breakdown but still needs to watch his discipline. I feel he needs to add to his game and let’s hope he can start giving winning post-match interviews ASAP.
Jarrod Taylor
Another schoolboy prodigy. He is still learning his trade in the professional ranks and time in the Maties Varsity Cup side will be good for him. He definitely has the potential to do a job for WP, and he will surely get his opportunity. He did make one despairing dive in trying to cut off the angle for one of the Pumas’s tries so there is that.
Junior Pokomela
Briefly flirted with the side but now part of the bench for the Stromers in the URC, where he belongs.
Roelof Smit
I was a huge admirer of his when he was at the Bulls but have barely noticed him when he has played on the hoops. It is incredibly frustrating as him and Nama could dovetail so well together, with Keke making runs from the base or from the back. Another player whose career is at a crossroads and needs to improve.
Hannes Gous
Honestly, when he came on against the Sharks, I thought he was Frans Malherbe! He seems properly unfit and his complete absence from the team since perhaps underscores that.
Locks
Ben-Jason Dixon
A star for the Maties Varsity Cup side, he has plenty of potential, although I am not convinced he is a lock in senior rugby. His high workrate and tackle count means he could easily come into the loose trio, to lesson Nama’s workload, as shown by his jackal pen vs Free State. His yellow card against Griquas did not help!
Connor Evans
Another player who has made the step up from the Varsity Cup, and still eligible for the u/20 side, Evans has been solid, if not outstanding. Always difficult in a struggling pack. He gets an extra point for keeping Simon Miller out of the side.
Simon Miller
I do not see what the fuss is about with Miller. He is a workhorse sure, but I don’t see any real quality, apart from hitting rucks, making the odd tackle and then giving a stupid penalty away. The constant puzzled look in his face concerns me too. Happy to be proved wrong.
Props
Lee-Marvin Mazibuko
His nadir came vs the Pumas. To concede 3 scrum penalties in a row is shocking. Especially when he is not visible elsewhere on the field. The return of Frans should bolster our tighthead depth and maybe filter into the Currie Cup side. The scrum looks like an algorithm for him at the moment.
Sazi Sandi
He has also not had a good time of it in the scrums. He can be devastating in defence, but his main job is to shore up the scrum and give us at least parity. With the amount that we knock the ball on, he gets enough practice.
Leon Lyons
WTF has happened to him? Last year he was the golden boy, starting for the Stormers, making tackles like a loose forward and delivering eye-catching displays. Dobson has referred to him as a Kitshoff in the making, high praise indeed. But in the Currie Cup he seems way off the pace, be it in taking strain at scrum time or disappearing in the game. It looks like he is wearing boardies on the way to Clifton too, must get a size smaller shorts.
Kwenzo Blose
Anonymous, except when backpedalling at the scrum. I fear the Currie Cup may even be a level too high for some of our players, Blose being one example. As a positive, things can only get better.
Ali Vermaak
Even the underrated Vermaak has not been immune to getting drilled in the scrums. Strange. He has flirted with the URC side too and is a much better player than he has shown in the Currie Cup.
Hookers
JJ Kotze
Made a timely return to fitness after the Stormers URC game against Zebre, where Andre-Hugo Venter got injured and was solid vs Free State. He BUTCHERED a try vs the Pumas when he was effectively over the tryline and from there we never recovered. His throwing has not been as assured as it should be. He has only played 2 games on his return, so there is mitigation for him. Should be aiming to get ahead of Chad Solomon in the Stormers pecking order.
Andre-Hugo Venter
I know he is young, but he is another who is guilty of basic errors. Be it in the lineouts, missing tackles, or getting the ball stripped by a scrumhalf (Stefan Ungerer). He needs to lose the puppy fat and destroy himself in the gym and not live off his father’s reputation. Another one of the many Grey College players in the professional ranks who dominated at school but are now struggling.
Lukhanyo Vokozela
A lot has been made of his inclusion from the u/20 side. I love a bit of romance so am hoping he comes good for us. His skew throws when he came on against the Pumas broke me, and nearly made me break a kitchen appliance. Must do better, and he will be given the opportunity owing to our injuries.
RESULTS
Western Province 48 – 36 Lions
Western Province 21 – 40 Bulls
Sharks 35 – 20 Western Province
Griquas 22 – 20 Western Province
Free State 24 – 17 Western Province
Western Province 11 – 37 Pumas
Bulls next up at 2am on a Thursday morning for me in Mongolia.
Can’t wait!