The Stormers are gearing up for their next challenge in the United Rugby Championship (URC) as they prepare to face defending champions Glasgow Warriors at the Danie Craven Stadium this Saturday.
Despite only starting on-field training today, Springboks Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant, who sustained serious knocks during last weekend’s comprehensive victory over Munster, are both fit for training.
⚡️ Simply electric. See you in Stellenbosch on Saturday when we take on the defending @Vodacom #URC champs.
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This week’s earlier-than-usual kick-off at 1:45pm comes with heightened expectations as the Stormers look to build on their strong performance against Munster, where they showcased their impressive ability to score four tries for five crucial points.
With only prop Sti Sithole ruled out due to injury, the Cape side is positioned for a largely stable selection as they hunt for their second consecutive win in the competition. The Stormers are hopeful of playing in conditions that will suit their running rugby.
Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani confirmed Willemse and Gelant are both available to train which should make them eligible for Saturday. With the return of Springbok stars Manie Libbok and Frans Malherbe, there could be some selection headaches at flyhalf and prop.
But the temptation will also be to stick to a winning recipe and replace the injured Sithole only. That could mean that Libbok and Malherbe return off the replacement bench which will allow them to stick with a six-two split this week again.
“We do want to build that continuity (in selection) to make sure the combinations start coming together.”
“We do want to build that continuity (in selection) to make sure the combinations start coming together,” Hlungwani said.
“In saying that, we do feel there are certain positions where we might make small adjustments, but the overall picture is that we are looking to build more and more of that cohesion. Not saying that there won't be any changes, but it could be to get a better final 20 minutes of play.
“But starting-wise, we will probably chase more continuity than anything.”
There are a couple of aspects of their game that will receive attention this week, including discipline and winning line-outs on their throw. The Stormers allowed Munster too many entries with penalties, while the line-outs weren't faultless like during their European tour.
The inaugural champions are hopeful the weather plays in their hands as they look for an early season win over the Warriors who knocked them out of the URC quarter-finals last season.
“There is still plenty of room for improvement on what we expect from ourselves.”
“There is still plenty of room for improvement on what we expect from ourselves. Looking at the bigger picture, we are happy with the win and the points we got from the clash.
“The line-out losses were more from our issues than the pressure they put on us. There weren't any balls they stole, whereas, on the other side, we stole quite a few line-outs of Munster. The errors were small timing issues which are easy to fix.
“We expect a massive challenge from Glasgow and I'm sure they have certain goals they want to achieve on tour and clearly making sure they get some points, Saturday (against the Sharks) was one of them.”