Rassie wants 80-minute effort
Sun, 04 May 2008 13:54
Captain\'s call: Jean de Villiers
Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus wants an 80-minute effort from his team when they meet the Waratahs in a crucial Super 14 clash in Cape Town this Saturday.
Speaking after the 20-10 win over the Brumbies at Newlands at the weekend, Erasmus said that his team's poor second half showing - in which they failed to score any points - was cause for concern.
He added that a lot of work lay head for the Stormers as they bid to secure a semi-final place.
"It was a terrible second half," he told the post-match media conference.
"The effort wasn't good enough, and the tactics weren't good enough. There's plenty of work to do in the next week.
"The scrum was disrupted and credit to the Brumbies. It's an area we didn't get right as far as channeling is concerned, and we'll look at that ahead of the Waratahs game.
"You have to be happy with the result considering we haven't beaten the Brumbies in 10 years," Erasmus said.
"They also picked up some momentum in recent weeks, and we always knew it was going to be a tough one."
It was the second week in a row that the Stormers have failed to secure a bonus point, but Erasmus says he is not concerned about this.
"We can't let the bonus point influence the way we play. Our aim is to win the next two games. If we get the bonus point, then that's great, but our first goal is to win.
"The criticism [over bonus points] does seem unfair at times, but it goes to show what a passion the people in Cape Town have for the Stormers."
The second-placed Waratahs hold a slender two point lead over the Stormers with two rounds to play and a win on Saturday will provide a vital boost to the Stormers' play-off ambitions.
