The diehard Stormers fan would say that the Stormers were robbed of a victory against the Force on Friday by a drop goal, losing 16 – 15, but the truth of the matter is that they should have been thrashed after putting in one of the most uninspiringly rubbish 80 minutes of rugby I have seen in a while.  

The seeds of misfortune were planted early in the week when frankly some shocking decisions selection wise were made. It was a case of utter complacency on the part of the Stormers management thinking that as the Force have not won a single game this year so what’s the big deal. Let me tell you something Stormers management…

The Super 14 consists of the domestic franchises of the world’s 3 rugby superpowers in case that had slipped your mind. When you have a tournament like that any team can beat any other team on the day (yes, even the Lions). Even the mighty Crusaders and Bulls can testify to that fact. So it seems natural that any team on a winning streak would stick to what works rather than tinker with a solid team. Ahhh but the Stormers management know better.

Let us begin with the halfback combination. Any of the top teams have solid halfback combinations that are proven to work week in and week out. Du Preez and Steyn for the Bulls, Ellis and Carter for the Crusaders, Genia and Cooper for the Reds. These are solid combinations which have been tried and tested. You don’t see Frans Ludeke going, “Hmm, I’m playing the Force this weekend I think I’ll start with Heini Adams instead of Fourie du Preez.”

Heini is a fantastic player but in a team with the world’s best scrumhalf he knows he has to play back up. So could someone tell me in a team which consists of a scrummie with the quality of Dewald Duvenhage why the Stormers persist to start with Ricky Januarie when Dewald has one bad game? And if memory serves me correctly did he not win the Man of the Match award in the previous game?

Now I’m not here to discuss whether or not he deserved it but the fact still remains that you are toying with a young, exceptionally talented player’s career by saying, “Well done Dewald you have been playing stunning rugby lately but here’s a spot on the bench for you this week.”

He’s young and willing so let him play every game for the full 80 minutes if he likes! Surely his body will be able to handle it. The way he compliments Peter Grant, who lets face it is probably one of the world’s most reluctant flyhalves, is fantastic. Peter’s game improves when he knows he has a reliable bloke distributing ball to him instead of an overweight, over-the-hill player who has authority issues inside him.

Other selections were the inclusion of De Kock Steenkamp ahead of Anton Van Zyl again after Van Zyl had a fantastic past few weeks. I could go on for hours about these selections but for the sake of space and my sanity I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. I’ll say this though, if you’re playing a blinder for the Stormers beware because you might just find yourself demoted to the bench for the next game. It’s the only franchise where mediocrity is constantly given a chance and talent and consistency is seldom rewarded.