Stormers desperate for five points against ‘dangerous’ Benetton

Finishing second on the points table is no longer in the Stormers’ hands, but a win in their final round-robin game against Benetton on Friday will give them a chance of securing that spot, should Edinburgh shock Ulster in Belfast in the final round of the United Rugby Championship before the playoffs.

And for that reason, the Stormers are targeting a full house of five points against the men from Italy, who they face at 6.30pm in Stellenbosch on Friday evening.

And, as things have turned out, Ulster take on Edinburgh at 8.35pm, also on Friday, so both the Stormers and Ulster will know exactly where they will finish on the log of this year’s URC by the time they go to bed on Friday.

‘Benetton can hurt you’

Right now, Ulster are second with 64 points, the Stormers are third with 63, while their opponents, Edinburgh (12th, 38) and Benetton (ninth, 41) are out of the running.

The Stormers are fully aware though Benetton are not to be underestimated.

“They’re a very good team, a dangerous team,” said assistant coach Dawie Snyman earlier this week.

“They beat the Bulls in the Rainbow Cup a few years ago … they always start well and play with a high tempo. They play nice attractive rugby, they like to attack, and if you give them an opportunity they can hurt you.”

Snyman continued: “There’s a big relation between the Italian national side and Benetton … and we’re going to have to be sharp for 80 minutes. They don’t give you a chance to ever relax and you don’t want them to get their tails up.”

The Stormers are obviously hurting after losing to Munster at the Cape Town Stadium last weekend and giving up second place on the log, for home advantage in the knockout stages, and want to set things right against the Italians.

Quarter-finals

“What happened against Munster isn’t what we wanted,” said Snyman.

“So, we’ve now put pressure on ourselves to get all the areas of our game right going into this match and the quarter-finals.

“(It doesn’t matter who we play) the quarter-finals in this competition its’ going to be tough. We want to finish strongly, put in a good performance and build towards the playoffs … we need to make sure we’re ready.

“We need to win (against Benetton) and get the bonus point and then it’s up to Ulster and Edinburgh, and you never know.”

The match will be played in Stellenbosch, a place Snyman knows well and he said he and the players are looking forward to the change of venue from Cape Town Stadium.

“There’s always a good atmosphere there. It’s a smaller stadium, a lot more vibey than a bigger stadium and the guys have enjoyed going there in the past.”