Stormers bracing for battle against a desperate Edinburgh side

The Stormers are gearing up for a possible backlash from Scottish side Edinburgh when the two teams collide in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Hive Stadium on Saturday evening.

Edinburgh have endured a tough start to their season and currently sit second from bottom on the log after losing their opening three games.

They pushed Leinster hard but fell to a tight 33-31 defeat at home in their opener, followed by a two-game tour to South Africa where they were beaten 22-16 by the Bulls and thrashed 55-21 by the Lions.

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The Lions result will be particularly painful and they will want to respond to it with a big performance back on home soil, and the Stormers will have to be prepared for that.

Earlier this week, Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker said they were well aware of what to expect from Edinburgh, especially with the visitors knowing the home team’s coach and SA born players.

“We have played against them quite a few times, including the quarter-finals in the first year in Cape Town,” explained Laker.

“They are a quality outfit. Even though they have three losses on the trot, in this competition there are no weak teams. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day.

“Edinburgh have a quality coaching team. I know Sean Everitt (former Sharks coach) and Scott Matthie quite well.

“Pierre Schoeman and Duhan (van der Merwe) played for the SA U20s when I was there. They are a great team. While they haven’t clicked at the moment, they can on Saturday and it will be a different game.”

Duhan van der Merwe

It will be interesting to see if Scotland’s record try scoring wing Van Der Merwe is back in the match 23 for the game, after he was a late withdrawal from the squad to face the Lions last weekend. It remained unknown if he was injured as no reason was given for his absence.

“We will plan for every single quality player in the Edinburgh squad. If Duhan isn’t in the team for Saturday, then so be it. They still have Darcy Graham who is a phenomenal winger. We have to be at our best,” admitted Laker.

“I don’t know why Duhan didn’t play against the Lions. Maybe he was injured or he went to George to visit his family. I’m not sure why he didn’t play, but we will prepare as if he is on the left wing.

“Duhan is a quality rugby player. He’s a strong ball carrier, has a mean hand off and is quite quick as well. Scotland use him as one of their key gamebreakers and it’s similar at Edinburgh. He gets the ball and gets them go-forward and momentum, so they can get on top of teams.”