Hurricanes must master the breakdown

While the Hurricanes loss against the Cheetahs last week was their first this season, it highlighted a few of the concerns last year's semi-finalists need to work on, principally their work at the ruck - an area where the Hurricanes are finding it harder to adjust than other sides.

Normally the Hurricanes are a dominating unit at the breakdown, always blessed with a big powerful forward pack, and with fast athletic loose forwards who are quick to impose themselves at the tackle.

But they were out-thought by the Cheetahs, who, despite scoring the solitary try, lived off Hurricanes penalties to kick seven goals.

Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper has again played around with his back row, promoting Scott Waldrom to the starting XV at the expense of Karl Lowe.

With the Wellington based franchise being one of the most heavily penalised teams in the competition, it is imperative they amend their approach, as other sides are implementing new and varied techniques to work in their favour.

This was accentuated in their game against the Cheetahs, where the South Africans conceded the breakdown and ignored tackled players to get a slowly retreating defence in behind the Hurricanes attack – completely muddling the offside line.

It will get no easier this week, against a very polished Stormers side, led by the Springbok blonde menace himself in Captain Schalk Burger. As a consequence, much will depend on the Hurricanes assault at the ruck.

In particularly, the control they impose via their All Black open side Scott Waldrom, a position in which Cooper believes is the hardest on the field to master.

"I think seven is probably the toughest position in rugby at the moment," Cooper said to the Dominion Post.

"Not only do they have to be tough, but they have to be smart.”

"Lowe gave two penalties away [against the Cheetahs] and I question both of them. Both of them were saying he didn't come through the gate."

Cooper has called for greater clarity from the officials, especially after his team had come unstuck against the different tactics of the Cheetahs.

"It's if they go in then pull out. If they go into the ruck they can't come out, that's what I'm disputing.  If they go in there is a ruck and an offside line. I think we just have to keep working and adapting to that new variation there."

Cooper though is most concerned about the Stormers forward power, which has been the principal factor behind their dominance both in defence and at the tackle.

“It's a major strength of theirs so we've got a plan. We did well when Jeremy got yellow-carded and the Cheetahs went for a drive and we stopped it pretty well with a man down,” Cooper said.

"It comes down to attitude really, how you stop those drives, and we need to be a little smarter than we were last week. But we have the advantage that we've been in South Africa a week, we are back at sea level, and most of the guys sleeping patterns are back to normal.”

"And there is a real edge after the loss last week, so those are good signs for us."

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