Mallett: Stormers can rattle All Blacks

Nick Mallett believes the Stormers have the pack to trouble the All Blacks on Friday night, while tipping exciting young halfbacks Yaqeen Ahmed and Imad Khan to embrace their opportunity.

The much-anticipated Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour kicks off at Cape Town Stadium, with the Stormers promising to take the fight to their more-fancied opponents.

Speaking on the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett dismissed concerns that the Stormers’ limited pre-season would leave them underprepared for the opening match of the tour.

“I think when you’re young and enthusiastic, three weeks is more than enough time,” said Mallett.

“There’s no doubt that if you’ve got the right attitude in your camp, the enthusiasm, and the fact that this is possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of these players, they’re going to give it their all.”

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Mallett believes the contest will be won up front, despite the Stormers missing experienced locks through injury.

“The Stormers have got a good pack of forwards,” he said.

“The lock situation has been difficult because they’ve lost Ruben van Heerden, Salmaan Moerat and JD Schickerling, but they’ve got Adré Smith and Connor Evans, two energetic players who are going to give everything.

“If you look at the front row of Vernon Matongo, André-Hugo Venter and Neethling Fouché, that’s one of the best scrummaging front rows in the URC. The All Blacks will be put under pressure at set-piece.”

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The former Bok coach also highlighted 20-year-old Ahmed’s first start for the club in the absence of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Jurie Matthee. The Junior Bok’s halfpack partnership with Khan has been one of the most talked about selections.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Mallett. “How they play will depend on how that pack performs.”

Rather than trying to match New Zealand’s expansive style, Mallett expects the Stormers to stick to their strengths.

“I think the Stormers will play a controlled, set-piece-to-set-piece type of game,” he said.

“They won’t try to play like the All Blacks by throwing the ball around and turning it into touch rugby. They’ll want to eliminate mistakes because this All Blacks side is exceptional at playing off turnovers and poor kicks.

“The All Blacks have a very low kick-to-pass ratio. They pass so much more than the South African teams, so you really don’t want to make mistakes with your own possession.”

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While Mallett stopped short of predicting an upset, he expects the visitors to be given a stern examination.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I think the Stormers are going to give it their best shot on Friday, and I think the All Blacks will know they’ve been in a proper game.”

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

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