VIDEO: Stormers captain sounds Connacht alarm bells
SPOTLIGHT: Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff admits the pressure is building on his team as they enter their United Rugby Championship semifinal against Connacht as overwhelming favourites.
Connacht, who finished in seventh position in the standings, pulled off a huge upset by beating Ulster in Belfast in their quarterfinal last weekend.
They now had to make the long journey to Cape Town to face the reigning champions and there won’t be many fans or pundits backing them to pull off another upset.
However, Kitshoff and his team are ignoring all that outside noise and they are bracing themselves for a tricky encounter.
“Having a home semifinal, it does build a bit of pressure on us because I reckon the public expects us to win,” said Kitshoff.
“While reviewing that Connacht game, we actually learnt a lot. We learnt that they are a physical side and they are threatening at the breakdown.
“They got a good scrum and a good pack of forwards that operate well so there are a lot more threats after we reviewed the game on Monday. It was about learning more about them and trying to understand their soul.
“It [favourites tag] does put a bit of pressure on us. They are not expected to win and all the pressure is on our side, but we did our homework and due diligence and for us it is going into this game 100 percent prepared and trying to get the victory.”
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‘A long journey’
Kitshoff knows that his team can’t afford to let Connacht build a head of steam as they did against Ulster last weekend.
“They are a tough team and they also have a good run of form with a couple of good wins.
“If we allow them to get their tails up, it’s going to be a long day at the office.
“It’s also about getting our stuff right quickly and not giving them any opportunities and taking the game away from them.
“We know it’s a long journey over the equator and there are going to be a lot of factors that are not going to be in their favour, but they can pitch up and play a great game of rugby.
“We will have to be at our best to get the win.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but it’s in our hands in terms of how much intensity and anger we bring on Saturday.”
The Stormers reached the final four after they beat the Bulls in their quarterfinal in Cape Town last weekend.
There was a spotlight on Kitshoff in the build-up to that game as it was possibly going to be his last outing in Cape Town ahead of his move to Ulster.
However, as fate would have it, he gets another chance in front of the Stormers’ faithful supporters this weekend.
“It might be a bit more emotional this weekend if I come off, but there is still a job to do first and foremost,” said the captain.
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