Stormers out to end Griquas hoodoo in quest to Currie Cup glory
SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers XXIII will make their Currie Cup debut under the rebranded name, and they have made their goals clear for the 2026 campaign.
The Stormers XXIII, under their former name Western Province, failed to make the Currie Cup play-offs since losing the semifinal to the Sharks at Newlands in 2021.
It’s been a frustrating couple of seasons for their supporters, but assistant coach Dewaldt Duvenage made it clear that they will go all out to bring the trophy back to the Cape for a record-extending 35th time.
“From the coaching side, we are going full out to win this competition. There’s a lot of heritage in this tournament,” Duvenhage told Rugby365.
“That’s definitely our goal to win all the games [up until the Final], hopefully we’ll start with that goal on Friday.”
Their task won’t be a walk in the park, though, coming up against 2025 Currie Cup champions Griquas, whom they haven’t managed to beat in their last eight encounters.
Scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer, a former Griquas player himself, explained what makes Pieter Bergh’s men such a dangerous outfit to play against.
“We’ve played against Griquas numerous times over the past couple of years. They are a tight-knit group and were successful in the SA Cup [and Currie Cup] in recent years.
“They have cohesion on their side, and we understand that they have several threats across the park.
“There have been a couple of players that have been here [at the Stormers] and have gone back and vice versa.
“We understand that they won’t just be another Griquas Friday night game. They are going to come here wanting to prove a point.
“We’re excited for the challenge. We know it will be a tough 80 minutes, and we’ll have to pitch up from the first whistle and put in a proper fight to get a result in the end.”
Duvenage added to Ungerer’s thoughts: “They’re quite renowned for their strong guys up front around their set-piece dominance. That’s always the case up in Kimberley.
“They also have magical outside backs. They’re arguably the most well-oiled team in the Currie Cup over the last couple of seasons.
The Capetonians used predominantly Under-21 players with a few veterans scattered in between in previous campaigns, but Duvenage hinted that more of the Stormers regulars could be featured in the domestic tournament this season.
“Everyone wants to play for the Stormers [URC team]. Today [Monday] was the first day in for some of the [regular] Stormers boys.
“It’s good energy having them around as well. You could just sense that everyone wants to play and wants to win.”
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