Fleck cops serious flak on Twitter as fans fume over 'shambles' Stormers defeat
Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck has come under some heavy criticism from fans after his side slumped to a 24-12 loss to the Reds in Brisbane.
It is now the Cape Town outfit’s third loss in a row, as they sit second from bottom in the South African Conference of Super Rugby.
Fleck’s team looked promising in the first half, and came very close with two disallowed tries. Although the score was level at half time at 0-0, the Reds took advantage of a Siya Kolisi yellow card for the first ten minutes of the second half and never looked back. Although the Stormers rallied with late tries, it was fairly comfortable for the Reds in the end, compounded by a litany of handling errors from the South African outfit.
The fans are not holding back on Twitter as they lambast the former Springboks centre for failing to produce anything with his team. With so many internationals at his disposal, many fans feel Fleck has no excuse for why the team are not performing, and that is something that they have been saying all season. While the Capetonians were without titans Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, that does not seem to be a good enough excuse.
However, this lacklustre performance seems to be the final straw for many fans, and there are increasing calls for Fleck to stand down as head coach, with the hashtag #FleckOut trending. This is what the fans are saying:
@THESTORMERS are like a Ferrari being driven by Mr. Bean. The Robbie Fleck experiment has failed dismally #SuperRugby #REDvSTO
— Jacob Small (@joecool_79) April 5, 2019
Thank you to robbie fleck and his wonderful team for wasting my time again. So many selection mistakes. So many decision mistakes. So many handling mistakes. Errors everywhere. #ssrugby
— Jonathan Yudelman (@jonnyyudelz) April 5, 2019
Robbie Fleck, you have more talent at your disposal than any other SA #SuperRugby team. Yet the @THESTORMERS are a shambles on-field. Time to admit defeat mate.
— Scrum Feed (@FeedtheScrum) April 5, 2019
Robbie Fleck. You were a decent rugby player. You are a terrible coach. Please resign with immediate effect. Thank you.
— Andrew Hallett (@MastodonMUSING) April 5, 2019
@THESTORMERS you just don't respect your fans……Robbie Fleck shouldn't even be coaching a high school team
— Mayihlome (@MTshwete) April 5, 2019
— Handre Naude (@handrenaude) April 5, 2019
?Fleck out!!! Kak play
— Simbongile Webu (@webu_sim) April 5, 2019
It's time for Mr Fleck to go!
— MANISH®™ (@Stormy_Boy18) April 5, 2019
— Thando-Penelope (@tdozz87) April 5, 2019
Shame what a useless unchoached team with u uninspiring captain of note
— bennie vd westhuizen (@bennie2706) April 5, 2019
My patience is running out for my team that continually loses!#flekkieflop
— Jeremy Oliphant (@jeshau1906) April 5, 2019
The year is 2045 and Robbie Fleck still believes the Stormers are 1 game away from clicking…
— ??? ????? ????? (@AndreGeel) April 5, 2019
Can Robbie fleck just leave already
— Sagheer Osman (@sagheerosman) April 5, 2019
Fleck is in his fourth Super Rugby campaign with the Stormers, but has struggled to comprehensively win over the fans. The team have been in the doldrums over the past couple of years after promising campaigns in 2016 and 2017. However, they finished joint bottom of their conference last season, and the criticism of Fleck has carried into this season.
The Stormers travel to Melbourne next week to take on a Rebels team that are full of confidence, so it doesn’t get any easier for Fleck.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments