The 'small details' Stormers addressed in quest to stay top
SPOTLIGHT: The Stormers have a daunting task to maintain their No.1 position on the United Rugby Championship table when they face Ulster in the penultimate round of the tournament.
The two sides shared some history, with neither one having won at the opposition’s ground before, including a dramatic URC semifinal in Cape Town back in 2022.
Apart from a 5-35 defeat in Belfast in 2023 when the Capetonians fielded a “B” team, the margins between the two have always been within seven points.
Last season, the Stormers squandered a 17-point lead in Belfast to go down 34-38 in a match where tighthead prop Neethling Fouché received a controversial red card for a dangerous tackle.
It will be interesting to see which side Ulster will select, having advanced to the Challenge Cup Final this past weekend.
Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani touched on the challenges the 4G pitch will present them and explained why they will fly out on Monday evening before Friday’s clash.
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“Last year, when we played Ulster at their home stadium, we didn’t train much on that [4G] surface,” Hlungwani told Rugby365.
“Some of the boys take a while to recover when you spend a few days training on it.
“That’s one of the reasons we decided to do most of our preparation at home.
“As one would have seen on television, it’s a very fast pitch.
“The ball bobbles a lot, and if you kick it too hard, it can easily roll and go over the dead-ball line.
“Those are some of the things we picked up. Things like the momentum you get from carries, where you have to be the correct height. The same counts for tackling
“All those small details we’ve tried to work on and address in terms of preparing for Ulster.”
Loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu shared his experience of playing in Belfast on the synthetic pitch during his time with the Sharks, knowing exactly what to expect in Northern Ireland.
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“It’s quite a challenging pitch to play on,” Mchunu said.
“With the 4G [pitch] you need to have the correct [length] studs, etc, but I feel like coach Brok [Harris] prepared us quite well.
“Since the start of the season, irrespective of who we’re playing against, we’ll approach the game with a similar mindset.
“It’s not so much about the opposition, but more about us improving on our previous performance.
“Playing in Belfast, where I have experience [with the Sharks], it’s a tough crowd and not an easy place to go and win, but it’s certainly doable.
“Our forwards worked quite hard to ensure we are prepared for this game with the same intensity and accuracy as we had in the past couple of games.”
Hlungwani touched on the Stormers’ top-of-the-table position and admitted that their main goal is to return to the mother city as the No.1 team in the tournament and possibly go all the way once more.
“We will be desperate. It wouldn’t be nice for us to leave Cape Town and return home not being first [on the log].
“We’re really desperate to ensure we do well and try to maintain our No.1 position.
“We’re going there to do our best to stay on top and return to host the play-offs and play in front of our faithful [fans].”
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