While all the media are talking Storm you can bet everyone at Ballymore are talking Stormers! Well maybe not around Will Chambers, the former Storm centre. Gees, I’ve marvelled at the timing of some of his runs and hits this year, but how about the timing of his exit from the Storm? Beautiful!
Forgetting all the kafuffle happening down south in the self-titled ‘home of Australian sport’, let’s focus on what, in 2010, has quickly become the home of Australian rugby – Ballymore. Too biased? Perhaps but sensationalism sells!
The catchword of the day out that way is belief. The players have it in themselves, and if you listen to Link they’ve had it for a while. He has managed to make it work for the team now, but it seems the big difference to the Reds of last year. Or the year before. Or the year before. Or the year before. You get my drift?
I can pinpoint the very moment I became a believer this year. It wasn’t the win over the Crusaders in Round 2. The Cru were missing their man Richie McCaw and they are notorious slow season starters. It wasn’t the win v the Chiefs in Round 4 either. The Chiefs are a bunch of super talented individuals, but they are like a cardigan with a loose thread. Pull on that and the whole thing falls to pieces.
Was it the thrashing of the Force securing our first back to back win for years? Nup, the Force were PATHETIC that day. How about the 12 points from the South African trip? Nah, those Hapless teams (Lions and Cheetahs) were Force-like in their ineptitude.
No. It came down to last week. Against the Bulls. Against a Bulls side who had spent the week replenishing themselves on the Gold Coast as we flew back from J-Burg. A Bulls side with two of the best players in the world, Matfield and du Preez. A Bulls side who are the reigning Super 14 champions and have looked near unstoppable this year with a game plan tighter than a Scotsman’s pocket.
But let’s be more specific here. The precise moment came at the very start of the 2nd half when the Bulls kicked off deep to the Reds. All game so far the Reds had opted for short kick offs to contest possession. The Bulls, however, kicked deep in an attempt to maintain pressure and secure a turnover or a penalty. So this is what they did again.
And here I was yelling at them. Yelling at Quade. Yelling at Hynesie. Yelling at Will. Anthony, Higgers, Laurie – anyone. I was yelling pretty much the same thing that the Wallaby coach at the time, Bob Dwyer, yelled to his team during a crucial time in the 1991 World Cup Final.
“KICK IT TO THE SHIT HOUSE!”
Now, unlike Bob, I didn’t have the Queen sitting behind me. I just had a handful of Bulls supporters dressed as those blue things from Avatar.
But the Reds didn’t kick it. They maintained possession. You see they had ‘belief’. Belief in each other. Belief in their game plan. Belief that they could take on the Bulls and win it. And they did. They held onto the ball. They spun it and switched it and smashed it forward. And in the end they won. And that, my friends, is when I started to have some belief myself.
Which moves us to tonight’s game against the Stormers where Suncorp will be filled with belief. Not just amongst the Reds players themselves, but amongst the (hopefully) 26,000 + crowd in attendance. The atmosphere was amazing last week and the QRU would love to see it increased this week.
But this will not be one way traffic. This is a very good Stormers team. The names might not be as instantly recognisable as some in the Sharks or Bulls team to the average Aussie. But, as with the Reds, their combination and commitment to each other is winning them games.
They sit one spot above the Reds, in 3rd spot, and have a massive 147 point differential built on the back of some exciting attack alongside almost impenetrable defence. They are on a roll too having smashed the Blues (33-21) and Chiefs (49-15) in consecutive weeks over in New Zealand.
But whereas the Reds have now faced the Crusaders (1st) and the Bulls (2nd) and defeated both, the Stormers have not played either as yet. To me that’s untested. Sure they’ve won on the road (well, except against the Force!) but they’ve had a fairly good draw. We are now about to see if they really are the title contenders their supporters, and many pundits, suggest they are.
What to expect? The biggest game of “keepsie-off’s” ever. Both teams live by the game plan of “the other team can’t score points if we have the ball”. Both teams will look to dominate possession, but don’t expect a boring game of crash and barge. Both teams will be looking to use their speedy backs (Habana and Fourie especially for the Stormers) as well as their mobile and skilful pack.
If you thought last week’s game was big? You aint seen nothing yet. BELIEVE me!
Noddy’s tip: Reds by 5
Team lists for the game can be downloaded here.
