The Stormers may have been beaten by the All Blacks in Cape Town, but their remarkable effort provided the perfect opening act to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for the Sunday Times, Keohane says the final 38-21 scoreline does little justice to an occasion in which a Stormers team effectively playing its first full-contact match of pre-season stood toe-to-toe with the world’s No 2-ranked side for almost 70 minutes.
“They lost but they won,” he writes. “One cannot overstate the effort of the Stormers in front of 47,000.”
With their current Springboks unavailable and their URC campaign still weeks away, John Dobson’s men had no right to be as competitive as they were. Yet with 14 minutes remaining, the scores were locked at 14-14 and the prospect of another famous Cape Town upset felt very real.
Keohane believes Dobson and his coaching staff deserve enormous credit for adjusting their pre-season programme and producing a side capable of challenging the All Blacks, who are approaching the peak of their season.
MORE: Dobbo ready to feed Rassie intel
The match also offered Rassie Erasmus an early glimpse of what awaits the Springboks. Keohane was hugely impressed by New Zealand’s attacking ability, but identified vulnerabilities at the scrum, defensive lineout and in the aerial contest that the world champions can target during the Test series.
“It says everything about the quality of the All Blacks that they can lose three players to yellow cards, concede double-digit penalties, be second best in the scrum and the aerial contest and still score six tries to three and win by 17 points,” he adds.
ICYMI: ‘Remarkable’ duel comes at a cost for Stormers
For Keohane, though, Friday night belonged as much to the Stormers and Cape Town as it did to the victorious tourists. Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry needed a memorable opening act, and the Stormers delivered one.
Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
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The Stormers may have been beaten by the All Blacks in Cape Town, but their remarkable effort provided the perfect opening act to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, writes @mark_keohane
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