Norman Laker is confident the Stormers have “fixed what was broken” in their defence and can use Saturday’s Ulster clash as a reset for the rest of the season.
The defence coach was discussing last week’s 52-40 win over the Scarlets on the Behind the Ruck podcast, alongside former Springboks Juan de Jongh and Rudy Paige.
The Stormers held a 33-14 half-time lead but needed a Yaqeen Ahmed brace inside the final 10 minutes to secure the result after a second-half comeback from the Welsh club.
John Dobson’s men host Ulster at Cape Town Stadium and are chasing a fourth successive win at home before the November break.
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“We addressed it [this week] in a nice manner. We said it wasn’t our standard,” Laker said. “Our work rate wasn’t good enough. Our tackles weren’t good enough. We’re definitely not proud of it.
“If we dwell too much on what happened on Saturday, it becomes a long season, but I think we fixed what was broken at the weekend. Now we’re looking forward to this coming weekend.”
Paige asked Laker which was worse for him – conceding 40 points, as the Stormers did last week, or suffering a defeat, which the team avoided.
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“Look, if you concede 40 points, you probably lose. I would go with a 9-6 win and I’m happy. No tries conceded [laughs].
“But I can’t answer you on a loss or conceding 40 points. Both hurt. It’s like driving your car into a bus and stepping out of it. Insurance will pay out and your car’s crashed. So what’s going to happen?”
The Stormers conceded six tries to the Scarlets, but De Jongh noted this had to be viewed in the context of losing hookers André-Hugo Venter, Deon Fourie and Lukhanyo Vokozela, as well as having to deal with multiple HIA disruptions.
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“I take it personally, because it’s something I live for. I’ll die for defence,” Laker replied. “If you have one game that’s not as good as the previous ones, that makes me sad …
“Don’t drop back on your own standards if a week before that you gave Bristol [Bears] a hiding, one of the better attacking sides in Europe.
“The week before that was like Springbok trials against the Sharks and we conceded only three tries. How come now [we conceded] six all of a sudden?”
Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images
The post Stormers coach: We can’t drop our standards appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Norman Laker is confident the Stormers have “fixed what was broken” in their defence and can use Saturday’s Ulster clash as a reset for the rest of the season.
The post Stormers coach: We can’t drop our standards appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
