Fleck: Stormers still have a long way to go
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck was pleased with his side's performance in last week's warm-up match against the Cheetahs, but says there's a long way to go. Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix Stormers coach Robbie Fleck was pleased with his side's performance in last week's warm-up match against the Cheetahs, but says there's a long way to go. Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
CAPE TOWN - Despite beating the Cheetahs 43-7 in a friendly match in Harare, Zimbabwe over the weekend, Stormers coach Robbie Fleck says his team still has a lot to work on.
The Stormers scored seven tries to the Currie Cup champions’ one, with scrumhalf Godlen Masimla dotting down twice, while Springboks Siya Kolisi and Damian de Allende also crossed the whitewash .
Still, it is clear that standards within the Stormers group are high this season and even an easy win over their local rivals is not enough for them.
“It is a good start for us, all the goals we set ourselves for this weekend were achieved," Fleck said.
"We saw a few glimpses of the hard work we did in pre-season, but we are certainly not there yet and we have still got a long way to go. We scored some decent tries from turnover ball and it is always nice when you see some results from what you have been working on.
“As management there were a few things that excited us, but there are definitely aspects that we still need to work on. There are still four weeks until our opening game against the Bulls and there is still a lot of work to do.”
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Fleck and his coaching staff, though, as he says some of the things they have worked on came to fruition against the Cheetahs.
“It was really encouraging to see that what we started working on last year came through strongly as well," he added.
“It was always going to take time for that change in approach to take hold so it is great that we are seeing the fruits of that now. It is now back to the drawing board, we will review the game and look at what needs to be worked on and see where we are at.
“It is now an opportunity for us to give some feedback to the players and knuckle down and get back to work. It is certainly pleasing from the point of view that the stuff we have been working on has come through.”