“No Excuses”: Stormers Own Their Mistakes After Connacht Loss

Good afternoon, Abou. How are you? Miss Agents on the result. Abou, you said in the week that you need four more points to make the playoffs. It's time for me to come to Glasgow next week now.

Massive. Do nothing over the day is very disappointing. Very, very. Yeah, we have to win all three to get where we want to be. That's much easier said than done.

Glasgow two four days away against two teams competing in the top eight. So, we are in a better position now. We have put ourselves in it. Tomo, was it errors, motion, all of that combined? Because it's not going to check it off.

It looked like it's a stop and a change in the world and then it just converted back to... I think it's spot on. I think errors, individual errors. I can't talk to emotion, but if we didn't make some of those mistakes, we wouldn't have lost the game. You know, there's a bounce of a kick, a drop restart and an intercept.

But we'll find mistakes. So, yeah, I can't really talk to emotion. I don't think we can use the to be in the tough week to excuse some of those mistakes. We were beaten and warped. Just following from that emotion, obviously, when you guys ran out, you guys went over and out, and this family, can you check to the guys about that emotion during the day?

Because it was tough to watch from the sidewalk, just by motion to know what that was. Yeah, definitely. I think that's just a snippet of how our entire week was. It was a really, like I said, it was probably one of the tougher weeks we've experienced as a group together. But like Dobbas said, at no point do we want to use that as an excuse if we lose the game that would be our cop out there.

So it was a heavy week, but I felt we did more than enough in that game to put ourselves in the great positions. I felt we defended great at certain times and there's like a lack of concentration that are up to you know with a simple decision that either gives them a penalty an entry or like I would just say you know we scored points that kickoff control that score right after we've just you know got points on the board as well so um I'm definitely using Uncle Chipy as an excuse for us to be losing was a heavy week but like I said there was more than nothing we did in the game for us actually to pick up the win so yeah that's uh that's on us Yes. Well, I think we were staying for the bench. We expected players to come on in the last 30 minutes and have we get this one on the line. Any discussion about the last 30 minutes?

Because I think all the captain needs to go last season, but he had to come loose. We said that the game was lost. I think we were loose throughout. I think there was a couple of passes in the first cycle, which we talked about, where we tried to shuffle it around, you know, without doing didn't work. And then certainly, you know, it's amazing stuff up there in the second half in terms of we got them all on the ropes and we did a quick throwing back to Warwick who got it.

Warwick could receive it absolutely smoked, you know what I mean? And then David does a forward pass, scrum, up we go. I think they end up scoring. Warwick does the counter rack and they end up scoring So I thought we were very loose you know I said we said at half time let be more direct maybe at maximum one pass And then we took guys down this far side here in the start of the second half All goes back, we've shoveled it back, shoveled it back, shoveled it back, see the penalty again. There's something curious about us today that we felt like we needed to invent to get it out, whether it's a chip on the edge of our 22 or something.

We felt like we needed to invent to beat them. Actually, the template was meant that we saw them all day. We saw them all getting on top. I think I give them enormous credit for that. Their defence is good.

And I think, you know, we had the last scrum there. I know it's their goal, so you're unlikely to get it over. But, you know, Oni Kerbola and Nittlen Fusher, and Andre Ugo Fender, and the great back five, and we didn't move from that centimetre. And, you know, the scrum we needed to win for, to get two points. And we couldn't do that.

So they did well. You're right. I just think we're a loose individual. So, you know, like, there's some of the guys that we can do, I think, and go on our own. I don't think it was just being cavalier.

I think there was a real desperation for us to try and do well. So, you're one of the scenarios that you're expecting something, and I mean, the supposed boys was a possibility that that was going to happen. I think 15, whatever. No, we thought, we thought Scott would get to 30 and he got to 32. He's basically subbing himself, wasn't he?

Yeah, look, that was probably an emotional selection, but it didn't cost us the game. We lost the first line out and then after that we were fine. He threw himself around really well. He was very chuffed with that pass over thing. The reason was we wanted to give him one certain game where he could sort of draw the curtain out.

It's been a magnificent career, a very popular stormer. It's a horrible, horrible week and change from now. We always thought it would be Tippi's family after the game and be so sorry about Tippi and let's have a drink together. But that's one big blur of a mess downstairs moment. Obviously everyone in Tippi and then...

How do you, do you know that mentally, yeah, the fire is pretty much as low as you've been in the season, that's true. In a way, it's actually something that really gets something for the game. Well, I hope so. As Rion said to the team, now we've got the funeral on Tuesday. I think that's, you know, we lose the track, it's going to stop the week again.

And we have a lot of emotion again. but we're going to have to do it. John, sorry, maybe you and both of you, you spoke a lot about something curious, all the mistakes and all this. In my view, the game drivers, the main game drivers in the last days, were making clear decisions for not making, maybe you as well. Yeah, look at that, half the time when we came in, the conversation was actually that There was no fault with our plan.

I felt like the majority of the first half we were in there. Even in there, I'll go in there 22. We just couldn't convert that to points. So I felt first half, the end runners were making the right decisions. I thought Sasha was kicking accurately.

We were putting the ball, like isolating the backfield there. So I couldn't find any fault with our plan there. It's probably just execution there. Second half, like I was saying, probably got a little bit more individualistic. I don't know if we became desperate, but it's like I said to the team right now, I don't think we can fault the plan or the lack of understanding.

I could land it was 100 there So probably one or two calls that came on sick half that the team overrides like the forwards probably felt they didn want to get stuck into them without carries There's probably a lot of things we could pinpoint for him. In saying that, like I said, there were plenty of opportunities for us to still get points and over the line there. John, how do you handle something like that? You go out at the team, I know it's not your personality that um yeah it's pretty pretty direct with them after the game now i just kind of felt like we were just a bit as like ruin said a little bit individual out there some of them some of them were absolutely flawless uh yeah so i don't know we're gonna i got to ask let me give you key shows But what I was really pleased about today was that the defense had a really good conduct attack. And if we give the try, we can argue about the pick and go try, they won't query it, but then it's a chip we didn't cover, it's a restart we lost and it's intercept.

So I was pleased about that. Obviously when you come up with more points you're not pleased, but I thought that was good for defense. It was good. I mean, so, the season has gone, similarly, the same, the last one has gone bad at certain times. How do you define this?

Well, I think what we have to do is, look, we were, you were both not coming here and using Chippy's thing as an excuse for the performance, but it was a hell of a week. week so it's almost like you know you don't want to destroy everything uh um because of the this outcome i think that 22 conversion challenge uh um but what we said this week there's four goals for this game you know one was our defense because i hope that their attack was very good run the contestable game very good uh the storm attack which is our sort of our attack in uh that wasn't so good and uh we're picking guys on the side conversion that was good but we didn't convert nearly enough opportunities. So, yeah, I'm not sure that individuals might understand if we're going to break a system, then there are going to be consequences for us. I think that's what it did. But just a question on the selection issue.

I was asked about the practice school kicks about the Avery Williams event week. Is there a possibility we can see Kevin Sulaivano's coming in? Because I hope that he's mentioned he's at four back as one of the World Cup League. In the first season, he played at 12, but he was at the University So is there maybe a shift there? I'm not sure of Senatlau for you.

Senatlau is not fit yet. We wanted to get really good with the contestables. I think the first six we won, I got a soft. Part of it is worth it, but Damien can't be there for him. I mean, the last month of the last year, you'll probably still be second of the last year, and you still probably need to touch this into the president.

Given that, in the past, we wouldn't talk that this is a lot they're coming into the season, but this season you've actually been pretty well asked. I mean, how does, even though lost it a lot of people, it's a small model of it. I mean, you've actually learned words. It like we in the thoughts and I and how to a scenarios of the year Yes. I'm not sure about the difference that makes the capacity to make the structure of game, playing with 14 men, and it's really something that they can afford looking at the next three league games.

So, I don't think it's a point of discussion in the team. discussion with the team. I think Coach Mons has done really well. There's multiple times in training where we'll be 13 and 15, but we actually have two guys less on the field. So we actually put ourselves in a position to be coping with the yellow card or should we lead more than that.

First drive then was probably due to the fact that we are number short. It's like going to the corner there. There's also a touch and go there. Obviously, ideally, we don't want to lead yellow cards. It puts us under pressure.

Probably make sure a little bit soft on defence as well, over committing to breakdowns or really enforcing yourself on the front line there. So, especially against a tag like Connacht, it's a really sophisticated attack. They're really good with all in hand. So, yeah, ideally we don't want to be leaking yellow cards. Obviously I thought Branagh's, you know, we can't fault him like that, probably just very passive in the tackle.

We're bent a little bit more, but I don't think there was anything which was there. So, when it happened, we actually, you know, it's really just laws of the game and probably regular. So, yeah, ideally, we don't have the low cards, but I never really felt under pressure or, you know, that we actually didn't play in stations for us 10 months, that he was off the field. Oh, and the Dodgers, you know, you didn't have him in this battle? No.

Good. What about three? What do you think? Yeah, maybe St. Velo's back this week.

He gets, the layman gets through this. Yuri should be back next week. So yeah, I hope he'll be better. We've got to get our selections right. I think it's going to be a challenge for us.

The forwards might be easier than the backs, but the backs have quite a few permutations. 100% right. So, it's must be... To realize this point, okay? Yeah, it's very...

I mean, there's a killer... We shovel rubbish out there for quite a bit too often. We did. We did. Cool.

Thanks everyone. Thanks very much for the coverage of Chippy. I think the rugby world, like the URC, Leicester, Munster, Ulster, the media coverage of Chippy, fantastic. Thank you very, very much. I think everybody got what it means to be meant.

So it's really, really grateful. Thank you.

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