- Stormers defence coach Norman Laker is chuffed that they did not concede a try in the win over Griquas.
- The defence guru says he kept his promise by buying the team doughnuts if they kept a clean-sheet.
- After a slow start to Super Rugby Unlocked, Laker says he never lost faith in their structures and the players.
The Stormers produced an improved defensive effort in their 39-6 Super Rugby Unlocked win over Griquas in Kimberley at the weekend.
The Cape side's defence came under the microscope in recent weeks after they conceded five tries in a 39-6 walloping at the hands of the Bulls in Pretoria and also conceding four tries in a come-from-behind victory over the Pumas in Nelspruit.
But they turned the tables remarkably in Kimberley over the weekend by keeping the hosts scoreless.
While addressing reporters in a virtual media briefing on Tuesday, defence coach Norman Laker was understandably chuffed and he revealed he kept his bargain on a deal with the players.
"I have an agreement that if we don't concede any tries then I'll buy doughnuts for the team and we were lucky enough this weekend to get our doughnuts. It's the first [clean sheet] in Super Rugby Unlocked and hopefully we can just build on it," Laker said.
The defence guru said it's not any team that can walk away from Kimberley in the manner they did.
"Griquas are a really good side... especially in Kimberley... to not concede a try is something quite special because Griquas always find something to score points because they're a good team."
When probed on what changes he made to the defensive system, Laker responded: "We've just addressed certain aspects of our defence and [made] one or two tweaks for individual players and I think it worked this past weekend."
The Stormers host the Cheetahs at Newlands this weekend and Laker said the manner of the win in Kimberley was a morale-booster.
"We'll have some confidence going into Newlands this weekend, playing against the Cheetahs in our first home game in a while, it wasn't always easy being on the road the past three weeks but we're looking forward to the challenge on Saturday.
"The Cheetahs are always a difficult team to play against, you need to respect every single team in this competition, you can't just take anything for granted because any team can beat any team on any given day, so it's quite important that you stay focused for every single game."
Laker said he expected a stern test for the Stormers defence.
"Yes, they (the Cheetahs) like to throw the ball around and they're a dangerous team with ball in hand, but we also back our defensive structures. We're looking forward to a good game."
It's been a slow start to the competition for the Stormers, but Laker felt some of the criticism was perhaps a tad harsh.
They are, after all, second on the standings with three wins from four matches.
"I believe in our structures and the players. It's phenomenal what they put in on and off the field. I think there were one or two things that didn't go our way in one or two of the games.
"Against the Pumas we gave them 21 points on a silver platter in 10 minutes. Against the Bulls, it was 6-all after 24 minutes and then it was 32-6 after 36 minutes. If you look at all our games, it’s literally 20 minutes' [lack] of concentration that cost us.
"And I don't think 20 minutes [lack] of concentration suddenly makes any team a weak team. The same happened to the Boks in the World Cup against New Zealand. It was two quick tries and suddenly they were 17-3 down. But I think it's important that we build on Saturday's performance and just look forward from here."
There were two injury casualties from the Griquas game - wing Edwill van der Merwe suffered a hamstring injury and lock David Meihuizen took a knock to the chest.
Laker said they were still waiting for verdicts on the duo's fitness.
"At this stage we haven't chatted to the medical team to hear how severe it us but we have valuable replacements. We've well covered at lock having Chris van Zyl and Salmaan Moerat. And the same can be said for wing where we have. Ruhan (Nel) is a world class sevens player so he can slot in at any position and then we have Leolin Zas and Sihle (Njezula) as well."