Dragons 'exposed' Stormers, says Smal

Stormers coach Gert Smal took a pragmatic approach to his team's victorious start to their pre-season matches and in particular the convincing 47-17 win they posted over a depleted Newport Gwent Dragons outfit in Dubai last Friday.

The Stormers still have work to do

The Stormers started their warm-up matches with a 43-16 win over Boland the previous week and in Dubai looked to build on that win.

Smal, speaking after the seven tries to one victory in Dubai, said his side had plenty of work to do before the Super 12 season gets underway later this month.

Before that they have one more pre-season fixture, against the English Premiership champions Wasps in London this coming Sunday, February 13.

In that outing Smal hopes to iron out the last remaining problem areas, before the Stormers face the Sharks at Newlands on Friday February 25 in the opening round of the 2005 Super 12 competition.

"We weren't up to scratch at the start," he said about his team's trip to Dubai, where they recovered from a slow start to comfortably overcome the Dragons.

The Welsh side dominated for the first 30 minutes and secured a deserved 17-7 lead, raising hopes of a surprise victory. But the Stormers, looking off the pace, then stepped up a gear and scored 40 points without reply to eventually win with something to spare.

However, the Dragons were missing eight players on Six Nations duty with the victorious Welsh side in Cardiff and they were up against a Stormers side featuring 10 Springbok internationals in its starting line-up - and IRB player of the year Schalk Burger on the bench.

And the Welsh side were further disrupted by a rash of injuries which forced several men to play in unfamiliar positions. Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery was moved from No.15 to centre just before the game.

But the Dragons still did enough to show the Stormers just how much work they still have to do.

"We gave away a lot of possession, and we had opportunities to score which we did not finish off," Smal said.

"There's a lot of work to be done.

"But the positive thing is that we did not pick up any injuries. The Super 12 is all about depth so I'm pleased we came through the match.

"The Dragons are on top of their game and exposed us in certain areas, particularly in some of the forward exchanges. That's what I wanted because there are now clear aspects we can improve on."

By Jan de Koning