Stormers set for a 'home run'
INTERVIEW: The Stormers received a timely boost ahead of the final three rounds of the United Rugby Championship.
Defence coach Norman Laker revealed that two key forwards have returned to training ahead of Friday’s Round 16 encounter with Glasgow Warriors.
Co-captain Salmaan Moerat (medial collateral ligament – knee) and loose forward Ernst van Rhyn (elbow injury) are both back at training after lengthy injury lay-offs.
Also back in training is outside back Warrick Gelant, who sat out the last couple of games as a result of a hand injury.
The players will be assessed ahead of the team announcement on Thursday.
However, Dan du Plessis is not available yet, having not passed the return to play protocols after suffering a concussion.
Laker admitted that Glasgow will be just as tricky as Edinburgh (who they drew with 20-all in Round Three) – both teams loaded with Scottish international players.
The defence coach added that Glasgow is third on the standings for a reason.
“We are looking forward to the challenge on Friday,” Laker said.
Midfielder Ruhan Nel, one of the key figures in the Stormers’ defensive set-up, said they have put securing home ground advantage in the play-offs at a premium.
The seasoned midfielder said the team is “embracing” their success – being just one win away from securing a play-off spot and a place in the European Cup next season.
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“Our last three games are ‘top of the table’ games,” he said of their encounters with the top Scottish team, the Warriors (in Cape Town on Friday), the table-topping Irish outfit Leinster at the same venue a week later and leading Welsh team Scarlets in Llanelli on May 21.
“I think it is an awesome position to be in,” Nel said of the fifth-placed Stormers – who are top of the South African conference.
Nel added that securing a home quarterfinal is a massive driving force in the team’s motivation.
With crowds slowly trickling back – they had 12,000 in the Cape Town stadium for their 19-17 win over the Bulls in a rescheduled Round 13 match earlier this month – the Stormers are keen to turn the Green Point track into a fortress.
“From an empty stadium to 2,000 people was a big boost,” Nel said, adding: “So to go to over 12,000 [for the north-south derby] – it felt like more than that.
“It’s incredible how the fans have got behind us, and hopefully we can continue to give them good memories at the new stadium.
“A big motivating factor is qualifying for a home quarterfinal – possibly a semifinal – for the crowd.”
Having beaten the Bulls home and away, the Stormers now have the belief that they can kick on.
“Both [Stormers captain] Kitsy [Steven Kitshoff] and [Bulls skipper] Marcell [Coetzee] said it felt like a Test,”Nel said of the north-south derby.
“We have played against Northern Hemisphere teams often enough now to know what to expect.
“They rely heavily on their tactical kicking games.
“We will benefit a lot from that win over the Bulls as we head towards the play-offs.”
Nel said they don’t want the occasion – the importance of Friday’s game – to inhibit them.
“We don’t really want to go away from that attacking style,” Nel said, adding: “It’s our identity; the nature of the Bulls game just didn’t allow for it, but the coaches are allowing us to play what we see and the guys are programmed to run into space and not be put in a cage.”
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