Ex-Springboks captain identifies key factors for Stormers’ mediocre form

Former Springboks and Stormers skipper Corne Krige has identified some key factors which have led to the Cape Town-based outfit’s mediocre form in this season’s United Rugby Championship (URC).

John Dobson’s charges were crowned champions during the inaugural URC in 2022 before finishing as runners-up to Munster in 2023, and both those finals were played in Cape Town.

It’s highly unlikely that there will be a third URC final in the city this year as the Stormers currently occupy sixth position in the standings and are in a battle to finish in the top four on the table in order to secure a home quarter-final.

Dobson rang the changes to his starting XV for last week’s encounter with the Ospreys in Cape Town and the end result was a shock 27-21 defeat for the home side.

‘You can never underestimate anybody’

“There was quite a bit of a backlash on that,” said Krige on a URC online round table. “Obviously everybody was incredibly disappointed at the loss, but you can never underestimate anybody in the BKT URC.

“I don’t think we underestimated them, but on the day we really didn’t play well. We didn’t look after the ball and there were lots of mistakes and knock-ons.

“We always try and play an entertaining game and throw the ball around. We like an open, messy game because within messiness lies opportunities.

“But because it was so messy we couldn’t put any phases together.

“As a Stormers supporter, it’s disappointing that they couldn’t do the basics right.

“But you only play as well as you are allowed to play.”

This weekend, the Stormers can ill afford another loss to table-toppers Leinster, who also suffered a defeat in their previous match, against the Lions in Johannesburg last week.

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With both the Stormers and the Irish province keen to return to winning ways, Krige expects their clash to be an entertaining one.

“It will be a very good match, that’s for sure,” said the 39-cap Springbok.

“I think Leinster will be hurting after that big loss against the Lions. That really was a big surprise for me even though they didn’t send their first team out there.”

The Stormers have lost six of their 14 league matches during their current URC campaign and Krige believes there are some crucial elements which have contributed to that.

“I think losing Steven Kitshoff took away a lot of the experience we had in the team. He is a great leader,” said the 49-year-old.

“Plus, everybody knows how we play now. They won the BKT URC in the first year because people didn’t expect anything from them. Nobody really knew about us in terms of the way we play.

“We always have parity up front and then just throw the ball around in the back. People have started to look at our game and say they can put us under pressure.

“I sometimes feel we should be a little bit more conservative, playing a tighter game. But people love the exciting rugby they play and I don’t think they will change.”

Backing the Stormers to reach third final

Despite his former team’s indifferent form, Krige feels they can reach their third successive URC final.

“They are still in the mix. They are right in there, still top six,” he added.

“They are a very dangerous team. You can never underestimate them. They are very resilient and they have got an incredible coach who knows how to motivate them.

“But it’s going to be tough if they don’t get in the top four. It will be very hard if they have to go away in the play-offs.”

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