Stormers favourites in Cape Town, but Lions have chance of pulling off shock win

The Stormers have wasted little time in settling in at their new home, the Cape Town Stadium, turning it into something of a fortress where they now always start their matches as the favourites.

Their results at home suggest they should beat the Lions in their final round robin United Rugby Championship match of the 2023/24 campaign on Saturday (1.45pm), but a closer look at recent results tells a different story: the Lions might just have a chance of pulling off a shock win.

And how they’d love to do the unthinkable because a win on Saturday would just about get the Lions, currently ninth, into the URC top eight for a place in the quarter-finals.

The Stormers, fifth, can’t finish any higher on the points table, but a defeat could see them slip down the table.

Lions have something to play for

The Lions coaching team and the players will certainly look at a few points going into this match for inspiration: For one, they have plenty to play for, the Stormers not so much, so it’ll be interesting to see how the two teams shape up with regards to intensity and game hunger.

Also, going into this match, the Lions are coming off two big wins: they beat Cardiff Rugby 34-13 and Glasgow Warriors 44-21 in arguably two of their best performances of the season. However, the Stormers are also coming off two good wins in their last outings, beating Dragons 44-21 and Connacht 16-12, both away from home in tough conditions in Europe.

Little between the teams

Also, while the Stormers are fifth on the points table with 11 wins for 54 points over their season; the Lions have won nine times for 49 points, so there’s not much separating them.

And, what will further boost the Lions players’ confidence is the fact the only time they have beaten the Stormers in the URC in the last three seasons, it was in Cape Town in their first meeting in the 2021/22 season, 37-19.

And while the Stormers have won all the other fixtures between the teams since then, the Lions will know how close they pushed John Dobson’s men earlier this year at Ellis Park, the Capetonians eventually winning 35-33.

Coach Ivan van Rooyen and his charges face a huge test of character in their final outing of the regular season, but if there’s one team who can turn it on and beat anyone, anywhere on their day it’s the Lions.