Stormers success is down to their improvement in defence

Cape Town - The Stormers’ United Rugby Championship match against Connacht on Saturday will reveal a lot about the progress the side has made.

So far this year, the Capetonians have given South Africans the most to smile about as far as results are concerned.

While the Bulls have been the domestic kings over the last couple of seasons – winning two Currie Cup title, Super Rugby Unlocked, and going all the way to the final of the Rainbow Cup – it’s John Dobson’s side that have done the most, in what is still a young 2022.

They’ve beaten the Bulls at Fortress Loftus, they’ve outplayed the Sharks at Cape Town

Stadium and, most recently, they hammered the Lions at Emirates Airline Park.

Their four-match unbeaten run also includes a 20-20 draw against a Sharks team at Hollywoodbets Kings Park that was bursting at the seams with Springboks.

The Stormers are the top South African side on the overall log in eighth place, and the only SA side with a positive points difference, so it’s been a good run.

Perhaps better than their actual results, though, has been their performances.

While nobody can sit here and claim the Cape side to have been flawless, nobody can say that they haven’t made a helluva step-up either.

A big part of their success has been their defence.

Now, it’s not like that is an area that hasn’t been one of their sharpest weapons for some time, but the fact that it’s an area that has become almost underappreciated should do enough to show just how good they’ve been in other areas.

This year, the Stormers have finally made the leap from verbally expressing their desire to grow their attack to showing it.

They have been a constant threat in the wider channels and their outside backs have had no lack of action -