Stormers hyped to entertain faithful in Champions Cup in Cape Town

The Stormers are hyped to entertain their faithful supporters at the Cape Town Stadium when they take on the Sale Sharks in their vitally important Champions Cup match-up on Saturday night.

Having seen their second string side go down 35-26 against Leicester Tigers in England and their first stringers beat La Rochelle 21-20 in Cape Town, the Stormers desperately need another home win, over Sale, to keep their knockout hopes in the competition alive.

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A loss this weekend would mean the Stormers have to beat Stade Francais in France next weekend to stand a slim chance of making the play-offs, while a win would send them to Europe in a good position and in high spirits.

The Sale match is the Stormers’ last home game until late March when they will be back at the Cape Town Stadium in the United Rugby Championship (URC), so they will be eager to put on another good show for their fans that have been spoiled with some top rugby over December.

Winning run

The Stormers enjoyed a three game winning run in front of superb turnouts, beating La Rochelle, the Bulls 26-20 and the Sharks 16-15, before having the week off last week, meaning they will be fresh and ready for Sale.

“Everything has been going good. We had a well needed rest (last week). But we are happy to be back getting ready for this Champions Cup game,” said Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlumgwani.

“It’s always nice to play at home. We like playing at the Cape Town Stadium and we have had some very good support in the past couple of games against La Rochelle, the Bulls and the Sharks.

“We would love to see them again this weekend because we won’t see them again for two months. So we hope to see the same amount of support or more than what they gave us in the past three games this weekend.”

Tough battle

Despite Sale having won just two of their last six games Hlungwani believes the Stormers are in for a tough battle, especially at the set pieces, where he highlighted the strength in scrum, and admitted they would have to be at their best if they wanted to come out on top.

“They’re also a very good scrummaging outfit. We’ve really studied them well and it’s going to be a battle. They’ve also had the short end of the stick in penalties conceded in the Premiership, but it’s something they’ve adjusted to and improved,” said Hlungwani.

“We’re looking forward to a tough battle, we know they’re going to come for us, but it’s something we’re used to and we’re going to go for them as well.”