Stormers looking to break Bloem drought
The last time the Stormers won in Bloem was back in 2012 and hooker Siyabonga Ntubeni admits that they might have underestimated their opponents in the past.
"You just don't know what to expect from the Cheetahs and maybe our heads were a bit big in the past few years when we did go there," said Ntubeni.
"I think we have learnt our lesson now. We didn't put too much emphasis on that game yet, but starting tomorrow we want to prepare well for the Cheetahs."
Ntubeni, who came on in the second half and scored a try in the 33-9 over the Bulls, was impressed with the Cheetahs' scrum against the Jaguares last week.
"I think they [Cheetahs] have improved. They also a young side and its quite nice to see them doing well.
"Again it will be another challenge for us come scrum time," he added.
While the Stormers got their Super Rugby campaign off to a fantastic start, forwards coach Russell Winter said they are not getting ahead of themselves.
"It was a nice opener for us," said Winter. "We got a lot of things right, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. We understand that it is early days in the competition.
"After having a closer look, there is still things we can work on and things we can sharpen up on. It is by no means the end product. We just want to keep our feet on the ground and keep just keep chipping away."
Winter was also pleased with the way the team contested the set pieces. The Cape side got the ascendency in the scrums as the game went on and troubled the Bulls in the line-outs with their contesting.
"We have been working hard in the off-season on our line-outs – on our lifts and just he basic principles of how to get the ball.
"It all starts with the lift and of course we have the personal. We got JD [Schickerling], we got Eben [Etzebeth], we got Pieter-Steph [du Toit]. We got very explosive individuals who want to contest for the ball and that helps. Eben was fantastic at the front and Pieter-Steph was trying to look after the back.
"[In terms of the scrum] the front row get on really well and the competition there is tough. There is no anormosity when the team gets selected. They know they have a job to do whether they start or whether they come on off the bench," Winter added.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
