‘No more Mondays’ as Stormers prepare for winner-take-all URC final

It is a winner-take-all week as the Stormers prepare to take on Munster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) Grand Final at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday evening.

Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies summed it up perfectly in a press conference on Monday afternoon, when he said there are ‘no more Mondays’ for the team to fix or improve on things and it all comes down to who performs the best on the day.

ALSO READ: Dobson thrilled with Stormers success ahead of URC final

“Like Dobbo always says, and we said it in training earlier as well, there is no Monday for us. So we can’t come back and say maybe we should have done this, or we could have done that,” explained Jantjies.

“This is it, that’s why it’s called a final. It’s the big one, we have one chance. It’s a big game, so the focus is on getting it right.”

After a scintillating start to his professional career that peaked with a World Cup medal in 2019, Jantjies has not been able to reach those early heights and had a tough few up and down seasons over the past couple of years for both the Stormers and Springboks.

Hitting his stride

But he has been hitting his stride over the current campaign and looks to almost be back to his best heading into this weekend’s final.

“I have tried to improve the whole time. It’s never like I wake up in the morning and decide I want to have a bad season. I try my best every time I go out on the training field and I try to take every opportunity that comes my way,” said Jantjies.

“Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. I feel I am in a good space and am enjoying my rugby.

“I am playing with a great bunch of guys, so for me it’s really enjoyable and I am enjoying the competitiveness inside the squad. Every single day we try to challenge each other to get better.”

Jantjies could be fronting up against a familiar foe in experienced Irish international scrumhalf Conor Murray, who has finished his return-to-play protocols after missing out on the semi-final due to concussion, and he will be a key weapon in Munster’s arsenal.

“It’s going to be a nice challenge and really exciting. He has played more than a hundred games for his country. He’s an experienced guy and is definitely someone I am looking forward to facing again,” said Jantjies.

Murray is not the only big name bolstering Munster for the final as monster Bok lock RG Snyman, centre Malakai Fekitoa and outside back Calvin Nash have all been cleared to return to the traveling squad for the game having missed out on their semi-final win over Leinster.