Boks won’t inherit scars from Stormers’ loss

AS THE build-up to the World Cup escalates, the mini-battles are being fought on the psychological front.

And after last weekend's United Rugby Championship final it is Ireland who will have perked up considerably, while South Africa will have shrugged their shoulders in indifference.

That is because Munster winning was vital to an Ireland psyche that had taken a hammering after a Leinster side that is not far off the national team lost a URC semi-final to Munster, who they regard as their cousins, and the following week were bullied up front by La Rochelle in the Champions Cup final.

In turn, the Stormers lost the battle of the breakdown in the URC final, which contributed significantly to their ultimate demise, but the reality is that the Springboks will inherit no scars from that loss.

Besides tight forward Frans Malherbe and Steve Kitshoff, I can’t see any other Stormers forwards starting in the Pool B match against Ireland in September.

Marvin Orie and Deon Fourie could be close to making the bench, but given the (conservative) selection policy of SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber in the past, the probable Springbok starting pack at the World Cup would be: 8 Duane Vermeulen/Jasper Wiese 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi 5 Lood de Jager 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Frans Malherbe 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche/Kitshoff.

Add to that additional “bomb squad” members in (probably) Malcom Marx, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith and possibly Orie, and you have your forward combatants for the big games in France.

I still think Ireland can be taken in the tight exchanges in the manner that La Rochelle dismantled Leinster in the set pieces and, especially, in the mauls.

To be fair to Ireland, all four of their URC teams are brilliant at the breakdown.

Even their fourth-best team, Connacht, made it to the quarter-finals largely because of their breakdown expertise, while it was Connacht who knocked Ulster out of the playoffs, let us not forget.

Leinster and Munster in particular are extremely well-drilled at the breakdown and that is why they can rattle up 20 phases at a time without raising too much of a sweat.

And a team that can keep the ball through multiple phases while working the ball from touchline to touchline will eventually force a gap and score.

But if you lose the tight exchanges, your breakdown efficiency is seriously compromised because your loose forwards are not going to get to the ball first. And it is in the tight exchanges that the Boks won’t fear Ireland.

In this regard, one game that should be remembered was the Champions Cup match in Durban in April when the Sharks put 50 points past (eventual URC champions) Munster. That was a Sharks team featuring Bok starters in Kolisi, Etzebeth, Mbonambi and Nche plus fringe Bok Thomas du Toit.

The Sharks ruled the set pieces and monstered Munster at the breakdown.

Finally in mitigation of the Stormers in the URC final, the condition of the Cape Town Stadium turf did them no favours in their bid to dominate up front.