‘Simple things’ please Coetzee
The DHL Stormers showed great determination on defence and plenty of skill on attack as they converted a 15-0 half-time lead into a clinical four tries to nil victory in Cape Town on Saturday evening.
The Cheetahs quite simply had no answer in all facets of play, which saw the Stormers move into 11th place on the log with three more league matches remaining for them in 2014.
“One has to give this team lot of credit for the way the team performed,” a visibly pleased Coetzee told the www.iamastormer.com website.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské also praised the DHL Stormers afterwards, saying: “They put us under pressure from the start and then our discipline let us down badly. I can’t take anything away from the Stormers because they played superbly.”
Coetzee pointed to the detail in his team’s performance on the night, adding: “I thought our line-out was excellent, we secured our ball and we struck a fine balance between attack and defence. Our trust in these players has paid off.
“We played as a team because we have now reached a stage where everyone understands the detail (of how we want to play).
“We did the simple things really well, and we’ve cut out the mistakes. Our first-phase play was accurate and we played well after securing turnover ball,” added the DHL Stormers boss, who also found time to thank the near 16,000-strong crowd for turning out despite the poor conditions on the night.
“Not many other stadiums would have had over 16,000 people watching two supposedly out of form teams… in this weather. To our always-supportive Faithful, thank you very much for your undying support once again tonight.”
Stand-in skipper Schalk Burger was also pleased with the team’s showing, the star flanker having taken over the captaincy from Jean de Villiers, who withdrew from the game after feeling some discomfort in his knee earlier in the day.
“We played the conditions better than they did and when you get a headstart in this type of weather, the momentum can stay with you,” Burger explained. “We made the right decisions and we took our opportunities well.”
Burger did not feature in the second half after taking a knock to his neck and he revealed: “I was in a bit of a grapple for the ball and then (Cheetahs prop) Coenie Oosthuizen landed on me and I felt a bit of a spasm afterwards.
“I am picking up niggles here and there, but I’ll be okay and I will join the Springboks on Sunday (at the training camp in Durban). I’m actually quite excited about it.”
Aside from Burger and De Villiers – the latter will not be attending the Springbok camp in Durban – hooker Deon Fourie failed a concussion test on Saturday, but Coetzee did not appear too concerned about it.
“Deon failed the pitch-side test, but he should be good to go this week – unless he starts showing other symptoms,” explained the DHL Stormers mentor.
