Rassie: 'We believe in each other'
Wed, 07 May 2008 20:29
Cool and collected: Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus
On Saturday the Stormers will face arguably their toughest test of the season, in their quest for a Super 14 play-off spot.
That test will come in the shape of a must-win match against the second-placed Waratahs at a reverberating Newlands.
The winner moves within sight of a home semifinal, and the losers will be in danger of dropping out of the play-off spots altogether. With so much at stake, the match result is of utmost importance to both teams.
The pressure is most certainly rising, and the business end of the Super 14 season has well and truly arrived.
But don't expect Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus to reflect that pressure in his demeanour. The former Cats, Cheetahs and Springbok flank appeared as calm and collected as ever when discussing Saturday's Newlands showdown.
Erasmus had the luxury of naming an unchanged side for the vital outing against the Sydney-based side, something of a relief after the injury problems that have robbed the Stormers of key players in recent weeks.
"It's nice [to have an unchanged side]. I believe at this time of the season the more settled the combinations in the team, the better. I think there are no coaches that will be rotating and resting guys, apart from when there are injuries.
"It's nice to pick the same team, and hopefully we can gel well," said Erasmus.
The Stormers share certain similarities with their next opponents, in the fact that both teams had rather forgettable seasons last year.
Erasmus agreed with that sentiment, and revealed that he saw both teams as having grown significantly this season.
"In the beginning, we certainly weren't underestimated. We were smashed the first three games, so guys were really coming for us!
"Where I would give [the Waratahs] credit, is playing all those wet-weather [games] you know - it's tough to play a pattern and get wins whilst being under pressure.
"So I think it's two teams that have been through tough times together, and now in the final stretch that togetherness must mean something."
The weather conditions have been a big talking point in recent weeks, and as usual, the Cape weather has been as unpredictable as ever. The past three games at Newlands were all expected to be played in wet weather, but each time the rain stayed away during match-time.
This weekend has been forecast as a wet and windy one, but Erasmus feels that it is too early to make a decision on that.
"We're not sure. We actually had a chat about it on Sunday.
"The last three games we've been preparing for wet weather or dry weather, and I can tell you that this is probably the weekend where we are expecting it [wet weather] the most, according to the weather forecast.
"But already this morning, there's a slimmer or slighter chance of showers," he said.
"It's difficult in Cape Town. I've only been here for six months now. I'm not too sharp with that. But we're preparing for both.
"I'm sure with guys like Tuqiri, and Palu, and Polota-Nau, and Beale and those guys, Ewen [McKenzie, Waratahs coach] would also like dry weather. I think they're tired of playing in wet weather now.
"So whatever comes, we'll have to handle it. I'm not sure what we prefer."
The injury situation is under control for now according to the Stormers coach, even though some of the players that did not practice with the squad on Wednesday.
Erasmus explained that it was just the usual knocks that were to blame.
"I think everybody has got niggles by this stage. Normally in the Super 12, the season would be finished by now, and it would be semifinal, or final time.
"It's a bit tougher, these two extra games, and you can see [that] on Mondays. Normally that's the day you can see the bumps and bruises.
"We've seen a little bit of an injury with Tony [Brown's] groins and Brian [Mujati] has a little bit of 'flu. But otherwise it's just the little bumps and bruises. It's nothing major that could keep guys out of the mix on Saturday."
The Stormers have come a long way this season under Erasmus and his management team. But most of the credit surely must go to the coach for what he has achieved in a short space of time, with what was essentially a disrupted and beleaguered Stormers franchise.
Erasmus reflected on the basis of their success thus far - belief in their plan - and also revealed that the team were always determined to draw strength from each other, despite advice or comment from outside sources.
"There were many unanswered questions in the beginning. I was not sure of the answers as well, it was uncertain beginning for me.
"If you just take all the questions... All the signings we made in the beginning, the captaincy was an issue. Would we win at Newlands? Can we score tries? Did we sign the right players? Did we have enough warm-up games?
"There are so many questions which, as a coach you just sometimes go on the experience you've got and the gut feeling you have. Sometimes it goes terribly wrong. It could have gone that way this year, and it didn't.
"I think sometimes there's a little bit of luck involved. But you know, there's people who believe in it. And people inside the team are the most important people who must believe, no matter what people outside the system say. And I think that has been a little bit of a secret - not that I say we've had great success already, but we've been relatively successful compared to the previous years.
"We believed in what we were doing, although it was tough after the first three games to keep believing in one another.
"That's the part that makes me the proudest of this bunch of guys," said a beaming Erasmus.
That pride will certainly be reflected at Newlands on Saturday when the Stormers are greeted by a packed house, an electric atmosphere, and 45,000 voices urging them on.
By Phil Coetzer
