Siya Kolisi praises team’s character after ‘tough week’

Stormers captain Siya Kolisi spoke passionately about his team’s ‘character’ after they found a way to beat the Lions 19-17 at Newlands on Saturday.

It was an ugly‚ error-ridden match from both teams that was as bleak as anything Newlands has witnessed‚ and yet it was compelling viewing.

That’s because the backdrop to the Stormers’ campaign is like a soap opera drama.

Off field tensions between players and the union’s hierarchy are simmering as the Board and the Exco engage in open battle over the positions of director of rugby Gert Smal and would-be director Paul Treu.

But there was also the damage caused by week one’s 40-3 thrashing the Stormers suffered against the Bulls at Loftus.

“It was a tough week‚ but what I enjoyed is that everybody took ownership of their faults‚” Kolisi said.

“I can’t explain how tough it was but we had to believe against a side that has been in the final three years in a row.

“The character we displayed to show one another what it meant‚ was great.”

The Stormers struggled in the first half‚ conceding a slew of penalties‚ yet somehow stayed in the game‚ which gave them the opportunity to win it.

Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies sealed victory with a try nearly six minutes after the hooter‚ which wing SP Marais converted.

“We were over-eager and wanted to get into the game as soon possible‚ but that led to some discipline issues‚” Kolisi said.

“At halftime we decided to stay off the rucks and start dominating tackles and that made it easier for ourselves.”

Coach Robbie Fleck‚ also praised his team’s resilience after the Loftus debacle.

“We had 25% possession‚ 25% territory‚ nine penalties against us and eight turnovers against us in the first half. We staring at another poor performance‚” Fleck said.

“Siya was smart in decision-making to take shots at goal to stay in the game‚ which was crucial in the end.

“We weren’t playing great but we hung in and in the last 10 minutes of the first half we started fighting back because our lineout was operating well.

“In the shed there was belief among the players and in the second half we started to turn the momentum in our favour.”