No easy games in Champions Cup, Kitshoff warns ahead of home clash

The Stormers won’t be underestimating London Irish in their vitally important Champions Cup match at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night, despite the visitors’ struggles in the English Premiership this season.

London Irish are currently second from bottom on the Premiership log, with a poor start to the season seeing them win just two games while losing seven, and they also lost their Champions Cup opener at home to Montpellier Herault over the past weekend.

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Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff, who lifted the United Rugby Championship (URC) trophy back in June, is however keenly aware of the danger that the English side can pose, as all teams that play in the Champions Cup are good enough to beat each other on any given day.

“In the Champions Cup you are playing the top teams in each competition. So the tactics of teams and the quality of players is brilliant,” explained Kitshoff.

“Sometimes in the URC, you might have an easy game playing at the Cape Town Stadium and it feels like an easy win. But in the Champions Cup that isn’t possible. Looking at London Irish coming to Cape Town we know we have to do hard work and prep to be able to execute our plan 100%.

“So this competition is a big step up. It is great to play in this prestigious competition and for us to have a chance to go for another big title.”

The Stormers themselves had a poor start to the competition with a disappointing loss against ASM Clermont Auvergne in France, and they, along with London Irish, will be eager to get their campaign back on track with a win.

Important lessons

The hosts will be looking to take some of the learnings from their French defeat into the clash with London Irish.

“It’s a completely different style and approach that put us under pressure (against Clermont). We struggled to execute and we have to take a hard look at ourselves to come up with solutions,” said Kitshoff.

“In the 2nd half we were exposed to their intelligent kicking game and English Premiership teams should do that too, so our ability to win back the ball and set up an exit run from there will be crucial. 

“I think there are a lot of learnings to take from that game. We will have a hard look at our defensive system. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, there was just a lack of bravery shown in the second half.”