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When one thinks about the Stormers, a few things come to mind. Rock solid defence, the best crowds in Super Rugby, a marvellous stadium and a determination to satisfy their passionate fans scattered all across South Africa.
What also comes to mind, sadly, is that they currently play a brand of unattractive, boring rugby. Their management is exceptionally poor, they can’t look after their local talent and above all else, they are the undisputed chokers of South African rugby.
When one delves into the history of the Stormers’ progenitor, Western Province, and the success it has yielded in the past century you can’t help but wonder what’s gone wrong in the past say 20 years.
Most don’t know but Western Province is historically one of the best provincial sides in world rugby.
After 120 years of their existence they still possess the most Currie Cup titles – a grand total of 33. Western Province, along with the Blue Bulls, are the only teams in South Africa to have featured in every single final in every single competition they have competed in.
They have won the Currie Cup, the Lion Cup, the ABSA Nite Series and the Vodacom Cup but are yet to win the elusive Super Rugby title.
The Stormers or Western Province used to be the most exciting team in South Africa. The Western Province tradition has always been to play a 15-man rugby game, to entertain, to score tries, to perfect a beautiful brand of running rugby.
In the days of old it was always a cracker to watch a Province versus Freestate game. In the days of old, Province constantly produced some of the most talented players in the world.
In the days of old, Province was successful
On the 15th of August 1928 Province managed to do the unthinkable by beating the All Blacks 10-3, something that numerous Test teams have never been able to achieve.
They repeated this feat on the 16th of July in 1976 again, this time the score was 12-11 in their favour. Between these two legendary games, Province also claimed a dramatic 17-6 victory over the Wallabies in 1963, a game most plaudits claim to be a true Test match.
In 1984 Province drew with England 15-15. They have defeated the British and Irish Lions on numerous occasions including three times in 1903 and another match in 1924.
In 2010 they defeated all five New Zealand Super Rugby teams in succession. Western Province has defeated the most national and combined teams of all provincial sides and have a rich history of causing unbelievable upsets.
The Stormers and Western Province have more than enough incentive to be the dominant force they once were in the days of yesteryear. They average the biggest crowds in Super Rugby, with their average being around 45,000.
Their stadium, Newlands is known as the heart, soul and home of South African rugby and is the second oldest stadium in the world. The Cape media provides the most support and criticism of all media networks in South Africa.
The airports are always full of fans wearing their sacred blue and white hooped jerseys upon their arrival. The Western Province rugby union is financially stable and together with the Freestate, the Western Cape serves as the biggest production line of talent in the entire country.
The Newlands Faithful make very sure that they are the most supported franchise in the whole of Super Rugby.
But how are they not more successful? Could it be their management?
Handré Pollard, Willie le Roux, Francois Hougaard, Morné Steyn, JJ Engelbrecht and Jan Serfontein are just a few examples of players who played in the Western Cape before moving on to other clubs. All of them are current Springboks.
Imagine the disbelief of Stormers fans when they heard that not one but two amazing, promising fly-halves from their junior levels were snatched up by the Bulls and Sharks.
For years now the Stormers have struggled to assemble a potent 9-10 combo. Had they held on to Francois Hougaard, Tim Swiel and Handré Pollard they would’ve had a very potent 9-10 axis. Hougaard would never have been reprogrammed to suit the Bulls’ kicking game and he and Pollard could have sparked a talented but underused Stormers backline.
Had they held on to those players the Stormers could’ve been able to assemble the following backline: 9. Francois Hougaard, 10. Handré Pollard, 11. Gio Aplon, 12. Damian de Allende, 13. Jean de Villiers, 14. Sailosi Tagicakubau and 15. Jaco Taute.
With Pollard, de Allende, de Villiers, Tagicakubau and Taute all about 190 centimetres and 100 kilograms, that backline would have been massive.
Their coaching is also to blame.
All credit where it’s due to coach Allister Coetzee, but it was also his frantic switch in game plan that caused the Stormers to regress. His men went from a team that scored magnificent long-range tries in 2010, to struggling to cross the stripe last season.
After the Stormers lost to the Crusaders in that vital play-off in Cape Town in 2011, they came to the conclusion that they lost because they attacked too much and did not have good enough defence.
So they shook things up. From the first minute of play in 2012 it was obvious to see that they worked very hard on their defence and decided to abandon their attack. While that produced great results in 2012, by the time 2013 arrived they had been figured out and have regressed ever since and now by the looks of it they want to convert back to the all attack mode again.
Gert Smal’s appointment as Director of Rugby said as much. Smal himself stated that he wants to bring the Stormers back to their roots and play a traditional, 15-man Western Province style game again. And since the Highlanders game you could see that he meant that.
Stormers and Western Province rugby has been in a state of decay since 2001 and things are worsening by the year. Smal has stated that he might bring in a new look coaching staff in the Currie Cup or next year to realise his dream of transforming the Stormers’ gameplan.
Stormers rugby is a very political place to be as well but Smal, having coached the side before knows how to handle that.
So the question on everyones mind is, an Gert Smal save the Stormers and bring them back to their former glory?
Only time will tell.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.