Stormers aiming for the double over London Irish in Champions Cup

The Stormers are aiming to do the double over London Irish when the two sides meet in their Champions Cup match at the Brentford Community Stadium in London on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

In the first meeting between the teams at the Cape Town Stadium in mid-December the Stormers cruised to a thumping 34-14 bonus point win, and they know that a win again this weekend will all but seal their progress to the last 16 of the competition ahead of their final pool game next weekend.

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Although London Irish haven’t been in great form in the English Premiership this season, they have improved drastically since the loss against the Stormers, including picking up a superb win over current Premiership log leaders Saracens, which is the only loss they have suffered in 12 games.

The Stormers will thus have to be wary of the home side and coach John Dobson is well aware of the challenge that awaits his team on Sunday.  

“It is going to be an incredibly tough game. They are a good team and have been in some really good form lately, so we know it will be a difficult match,” said Dobson.

“They are a ball in hand team and I think the score in Cape Town really flattered us. So this will be a great test of where we are.

“We know that we have to win one of our next two games to get to the last 16. It would be really nice if it was this weekend, but that’s going to be much easier said than done.”

Lost opener

Having lost their opening Champions Cup match against Clermont in France, the Stormers will end their pool stage campaign against them at the Cape Town Stadium next weekend, and they would be a lot more comfortable going into that match with another win in the competition.

They will also be eager to bounce back in style after suffering an agonising last gasp loss in their United Rugby Championship clash against Glasgow Warriors over the past weekend, and a positive result over London Irish would certainly get that winning feeling back.