Kitshoff ‘quietly and quickly’ disciplined Jannie
THEY’VE been called the “light five” and all sorts of nasty names over the last decade, but now the Stormers appear to have sorted out the lack of grunt in their pack.
And former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson says that the Stormers are “in a much better position” than last year if they had to face the powerful Crusaders unit in a Super Rugby semi-final again.
Kempson, who is the EP Kings’ scrum coach, was scathing of the Stormers forwards following a pre-season friendly against the Kings in Port Elizabeth on February 11.
His feelings were echoed by another former Bok prop in Ollie le Roux and ex-stormers and Bok captain Corné Krige, who were both concerned about the lack of physicality, as well as the state of the scrummaging.
But yesterday, Kempson told the Cape Times that the forwards showed dramatic improvement against the Hurricanes and the Sharks.
Props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, lock Eben Etzebeth and flank Siya Kolisi are all part of the new young brigade who have added a hard edge to the pack. They followed up a solid showing in the Hurricanes game with another blockbusting display against a formidable Sharks unit.
“I thought the Stormers pack did exceptionally well against the Sharks. It is great to see the young Kitshoff developing rather quickly. It is quite a mean feat to take on the incumbent Springbok tighthead prop and discipline him quietly and quickly, which is exactly what Kitshoff did,” he said.
“The way he attacks his tighthead is impressive. Kitshoff doesn’t stand back for anyone, and he was just able to go right through Jannie. He and Malherbe both have quite straight and long backs, and they are big kids! Nowadays, scrums are more about a unit, so the front row have two strong locks in Etzebeth and Bekker pushing too.”
Kempson said that the performance against the Sharks meant more than the effort against the Hurricanes. “They did well against the Hurricanes, as they were an unknown quantity. But the Sharks started with the Springbok hooker and had the Bok tighthead, so the Stormers really did well against them.
“Last week, when Kolisi came on to the field, I think most people would’ve been slightly worried, particularly with the role that Schalk fulfils. But Kolisi did that job, no problem, and he had another big game against the Sharks. Etzebeth is an unbelievable specimen! He is mammoth, to be honest – he has definitely been the surprise so far for the Stormers.
“The youngsters don’t fear other packs, as they built up experience last year and are not overwhelmed by Super Rugby.”
The Stormers pack were outstanding in dismantling the Bulls and Sharks away from home last year, but it didn’t count for much in the semi-final against the Crusaders at Newlands. On that July evening, Brok Harris was destroyed by Wyatt Crockett in the scrums, and the Stormers were overwhelmed and lost 29-10.
But Kempson feels they will be better equipped this year. Coach Allister Coetzee is still awaiting the return of several injured players – props Deon Carstens and Wicus Blaauw, hooker Deon Fourie, lock Rynhardt Elstadt and skipper Schalk Burger – who would all strengthen the side.
“The Crusaders are a different kettle of fish altogether! They have quite a few All Blacks in their set-up – everyone knows about the Franks brothers and what they can do,” Kempson said. “But I think that the Stormers are in a much better position if they had to find themselves in a semi-final against the Crusaders. They will be a lot more confident in what their forwards can achieve, and have a counter against them.”
Meanwhile, the Cape Times understands that Elstadt is unlikely to be fit for the Blues game next week. The robust lock has been struggling with an ankle injury he sustained against the Kings, and was expected to get some gametime for the Western Province Vodacom Cup side in their opening match against Boland at Newlands this Saturday.
But Elstadt is believed to have been withdrawn from the WP squad following yesterday’s practice as his ankle injury flared up again. Without any gametime, he probably wouldn’t be considered for the Blues clash, which means that Etzebeth will retain his No 4 jersey.