Stormers guilty of the biggest problem in South African rugby

Jean de Villiers pickpockets another intercept try Photo: Getty Images

South African rugby has many issues that need to be addressed. Among those issues, one can debate cause and effect. But the biggest single issue is the speed of second phase ball.

As I said one can debate cause and effect. For sure, slow ruck ball is often a result of poor commitment and cleaning out at the breakdown. It might also be caused by the set up of the ruck or maul - poor choice of field position for the ruck / maul engagement can also be the source of the problem. And most often it is likely due to poor protection of the ball allowing opponents to slow down recycling.

It is delightful that the Stormers carded a win on their third attempt of the Super 14 season. But in truth, the Chiefs were not the strongest competition.

Against better sides with stiff ruck and maul competition, the Stormers will again look like the side we saw over the last two weeks. Their backs will look innocuous and their flyhalf will look flatfooted.

So whether the Stormers improved showing was due to the wholesale changes in personnel or the quality of opposition is debatable.

That said, Peter Grant very good. He was more direct as Kobus van der Merwe promised. He started his kicking duties with aplomb before falling away later. After working well in the inside centre position with Naas Olivier on his inside, his delayed return to the side from injury was overdue. It is still my opinion that Grant offers more at inside centre than Jean de Villiers.

De Villiers was better tonight though. He held his line on defence and looked more of a factor on attack. He snaffled a trademark intercept to score a runaway try that ultimately took the game away from the Chiefs. If he can increase his levels of commitment, I'd like to see him outside Grant at 13.

Wholesale changes may have accounted for the 20 missed tackles from the Stormers. It must have been very difficult to organise and entirely new line on defence. However, the figure is unacceptable and the Stormers were lucky not to leak more tries than the one resulting from a missed Corne Uys effort.

Getting back to that slow ball, a further reason for it was the service of JP Joubert. He takes a step on every pass from the base. Placing the front foot down the line of the pass is fine. Stepping with your back foot before passing delays the pass substantially. It's a flaw in technique that should have been corrected at schoolboy level and was the subject of frustration when observed by Doc Craven. He apparently remarked that if the scrummie took a step, the delay worked its way through the line leaving outside backs no chance at all.

Lastly with regard to the backs, I thought Brent Russell looked innocuous at full back. He played in the flyhalf channel enough to allow for glimpses of form. There didn't seem to be much. Is he overrated or have years of benchtime blunted one of South Africa's deadliest attackers?

In the scrum, the Stormers looked poor. Proving that dominant scrumming is often due more to technique rather than weight, the Stormers often looked shaky on their own ball. Brock Harris looked good but JD Moller looked to struggle with his bind. Behind him, the tight five couldn't have been helped with three loosies waiting to break rather than contributing to the shove.

In the loose, Harris and Gerrie Brits were outstanding in their contribution to tackles and cleaning. Bekker looked a much better player too. Letting the side down was Tiaan Liebenberg whose line-out throwing was putrid.

Schalk Burger had a tough day at the office due to some shocking refereeing. He was first pinged for playing a player in the ruck while off his feet. Replays showed it was Brock Harris AND he was on his feet. It happened directly in front of the referee. It began Burger's vocal dissatisfaction. Burger's third offence was for bringing down a maul. Replays showed him knocked off his feet and the maul falling over him. His indignation at the yellow card almost resulted in a red. I hope Paul Marx is censured for an unacceptable level of refereeing. But Schalk Burger needs to keep his temper.

So a lot for the Stormers to work on. They'll be missing that offer of Frederico Mendez to help as a scrum coach. They should never have turned that down. They will also have to focus on ball protection and cleaning at ruck and maul time. They don't need any specialist coach for that.