The Stormers' Neethling Fouche says his late grandmother would not approve of their current form.
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Stormers prop Neethling Fouche says that if his grandmother were still alive, she would have given him an earful about the team’s current form, but he insists that a turnaround is close — and it could happen against the Bulls on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld.
In recent games, the Stormers have lost twice to the Sharks and once to the Lions, while the Bulls have won their last four matches. On current form, a turnaround victory on Saturday would be extraordinary.
Fouche said, “We have to admit to ourselves, ‘We have not been good enough.’ My grandmother used to call me after the Stormers lost and give me a spanking over the phone. She is no longer with us, but I can only imagine what she would have had to say about three losses in a row.
“We as players are looking at each other, and the finger points to you first,” he said. “We have to be much better against this Bulls team. They are a side finding their rhythm.”
However, Fouche insists there is nothing structurally or systemically wrong with the squad.
“I can understand why a lot of people are looking at big stuff, but I believe it is a couple of small things that we have to put right. Then the confidence comes back, and that will lead us to a better place. When you lose, you go home, and you want to just put your head under a wet towel and shut out the world,” Fouche explained. “You care so much about the Stormers and making the fans proud.
“We deeply care about the team. Is it a lack of trying, a lack of caring, a lack of effort? It is 'no' to all of those. I think sometimes we try too hard. As Dobbo (coach John Dobson) recently said, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ We know we have the template; it is about getting the small but special moments right.”
Fouche, who won a cap for the Springboks in the Test against Georgia last year, says his teammates cannot wait for kick-off on Saturday.
“It is not a tough one to get up for,” he said. “Someone said to me this morning, ‘If you had to ask the question who wants to play for the Stormers against the Bulls this weekend, 20,000 guys in the first half hour would put up their hands.’ They would say, ‘I would love the opportunity to play the Bulls at a packed Loftus’.
“So we are aware that it is a massive privilege. Over the course of a career, you get a limited amount of opportunities to play these huge North-South derbies in Pretoria, and against a very good Bulls team.”
Inevitably, Fouche was asked about the looming scrum battle with a Bulls pack studded with current Springboks.
“It is going to be an immense battle and, firstly, credit must be given to the respective scrum coaches,” the tighthead prop said before adding with a smile: “We have Brok Harris, and they have Werner Kruger. Maybe a one-on-one scrum battle between them before kick-off would attract quite a few spectators.
“You guys have heard all the clichés, but it really is about eight versus eight, and which eight is going to be more connected — that is the question. Everyone is so well-coached these days. The Bulls have a big pack; they have heavy flanks.
"We have guys returning from injury. There is no easy answer to give you about how the scrum will go. As an eight, you have to pull together, be connected, and not scrum away from the challenge.”
* Mike Greenaway is a senior rugby reporter at Independent Media and a contributor on our Last World on Rugby podcast on our YouTube channel, The Clutch.