VIDEO: The South African trait that Ulster brings to the game
Rito Hlungwani’s Stormers side jumped from 12th to eighth place ahead of Round 14 of the United Rugby Championship, following their 29-17 bonus-point away win against Scarlets last week.
They are preparing to face a tricky Ulster outfit in Belfast this weekend.
The win against Scarlets was a big morale boost and possibly season-defining, as the Capetonians seek to finish their campaign strong after a shaky start.
Hlungwani is well aware of their situation and said that the Stormers will treat their last five matches as play-off games in their quest to cement a knock-out spot after the regular season.
The article continues below…
“Dobbo [John Dobson] usually says: ‘This is the most important game of the campaign.’
“He’s been saying it since URC one,” Hlungwani said.
“We have come to that stage now. The nice thing at the moment is that we’re sort of in control of our own destiny.
“We’ve got to do the job at hand and play as well as we can and treat every single game like it is a play-off.
“At the end of the day, we’ll eventually get what we want.”
Hlungwani also outlined what makes Ulster different from their Irish counterparts and in which areas they will challenge the Stormers.
The article continues below…
“Ulster is very different to the other Irish sides,” he said, adding: “They play more of a physical game and have a massive pack of forwards.
“It will be a high impact, high collision kind of game.
“That’s probably their main point of difference.
“We’re expecting a tough and physical match.
“They’re one of those sides that work hard to get into your 22 [metre area].
“When they get there, they are very patient and want to dominate you physically and grind away until they get results.”
United Rugby Championship
Rugby’s best of the best, ranked by experts. Check out our list of the Top 100 Men's Rugby Players and let us know what you think!
