Munster coach sounds warning as Cape Town prepares for dream final

A record crowd of more than 47,000 saw the Stormers comprehensively overcome Connacht but you can expect that figure to be swelled even further when Cape Town hosts what can only be described as a dream United Rugby Championship (URC) grand final a fortnight from now.

After the Stormers completed their victory, their coach John Dobson wasn’t holding much hope of Munster giving his team a hand by beating Leinster at the Aviva Stadium to set up a home final.

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Everything he said at the post-match press conference came across as an acceptance that the semi-final had been his team’s last home game of the season.

However, three hours later the Stormers were celebrating in one of the stadium’s hospitality suites with a gusto that might just have been heard at the Aviva as Jack Crowley’s dropped-goal with less than three minutes remaining clinched Munster an epic victory.

Last year’s final was also played in Cape Town, with the Stormers winning the inaugural URC title by beating their arch rivals, the Bulls.

Covid restrictions

However, that crowd was limited to just 31,000 due to the Covid restrictions in place at the time which set a maximum attendance of 50% capacity. This time there are no restrictions and tickets are sure to go quickly once they go on sale.

The decider pits the Stormers against the only team to have beaten them at home this season, and ever since they surrendered their home unbeaten record to Munster in what was a pulsating and tight game, they have spoken about how they’d love to set the record straight.  Now they get their opportunity.

It will also be the third in what has been a sequence of farewells for popular Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff, with each play-off game the Stormers have played so far being set up beforehand as their last appearance at home for the 2022/23 season. But this time it will definitely be the most capped Stormers player of all-time’s farewell, with the trophy on the line.

On a mission

One thing the Stormers will know for sure though is that Munster will come to Cape Town on a mission, and if there was any doubt, Munster coach Graham Rowntree erased that with his post-match comments at the Aviva.

“We’re in a final, lads. I said to the group in the week that 25 days ago we were paranoid about European qualification (because of the log position), but then we got to a semi-final, and now we are in a final,” said the former England prop.

“Our game is still growing. We are finding out about people. Pete (O’Mahony) spoke really well in the dressing room about this not being our final tonight. We go to Cape Town with belief. This group won’t give in and we have come through some fires in the last few weeks. We go to Cape Town and it will be our sixth away game on the bounce, and that’s when we are finding out about people.

“We are tough and we are battle-hardened, so I was never feeling hopeless. This team won’t go away,” he added.

Impressive record

Munster do have an impressive away record and they have shown impressive resilience. After being thumped in the Champions Cup round of 16 tie by the Sharks, Munster returned to South Africa to play the Sharks again and the Stormers in their final two URC league matches and they ended their mini-tour unbeaten. The resolve and determination that Rowntree referred to was writ large when the Irish province came back from a 22-3 deficit against the Sharks to draw 22-all.

ALSO READ: Stormers prove last year’s URC title was no flash in the pan

Subsequent to that they have won a quarterfinal in Glasgow and now an away semi against Leinster, and with two weeks to prepare for the final and get to Cape Town, the final will be played on a relatively even playing field.

The Stormers, since losing to Munster, have beaten Benetton in their final league game, the Bulls by 12 points in the quarter and Connacht by 18 in the semi.