Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani says the DHL Stormers’ set-piece struggles on tour are part of “growing pains”.
In both of their tour losses against Glasgow Warriors and Benetton, the Stormers have found it tough to get their scrum going, while also battling with an inconsistent lineout.
This particularly hurt them in the loss in Treviso, where they couldn’t capitalise on a couple of late opportunities to score from lineouts and rescue a victory.
When asked about the Stormers’ struggles in the build up to the clash with Munster on Saturday, forwards coach and former lock Hlungwani explained that the Stormers are adapting to new combinations after the departure of Marvin Orie to France and captain Salmaan Moerat’s injury.
“I didn’t sleep much because of those lineouts. I did some serious analysis,” Hlungwani said.
“It’s part of the process. When you look at our system, Ruben [van Heerden] played in the number four jersey last year, Gary Porter missed a huge part of the season and we’ve lost Marvin Orie. It is going to take time.
“This takes me back to that first season, when we just had Adre and Salmaan, who was calling. There were lots of growing pains. It’s the same thing now. We are slowly finding each other, and trying to improve the system. There will be mistakes, but those are things we can fix.
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“We have identified the challenges. When we faced Glasgow, we were up against Richie Gray, who is an international. In Treviso, we were playing Italian internationals. So there are no breaks there, we have to learn on the job.
“For Gary, Ruben, Adre, it’s a privilege to play against players of a high standard. At the same time, they understand they can reach that level. Ours is a growth mindset, we are looking for that every week.
“Before I can even identify the challenges, the players come to me. So we are in a good position, because everyone understands.”
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