Stormers target Munster upset in URC grudge match

The odds may be stacked against them but the Stormers will be desperate to gain some revenge when they take on defending champs Munster in a United Rugby Championship (URC) grudge match at Thomond Park in Limerick on Saturday evening (kick-off 7:15pm).

The Stormers have yet to beat Munster in the URC and were beaten 19-14 in last season’s final in Cape Town, so there will be a lot of motivation for them to upset the hosts in what should be an entertaining encounter.

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It has also not been the best start to the season for the Stormers, who sit ninth on the URC table after two wins and two losses and they will know another loss will leave them behind the eight ball and chasing the pace setters.

Munster haven’t had a great start themselves, having picked up two wins, a draw and a loss to sit seventh, but they will be confident playing at home, especially since they’ve beaten the Stormers three times in the competition, with two of those wins in South Africa.

Both teams head into the match off of losses, the Stormers going down 20-17 to Benetton in Treviso, while Munster lost 21-14 away at Ulster, so both sides will be eager to bounce back with a win.

Desperate Stormers

The Stormers will however be more desperate as they’ve lost twice on their European tour so far, and a third loss would leave them in danger of heading back to SA without a win from the tour.

Their last tour match will be against Cardiff in Wales next weekend and although that is a game that the Stormers would ordinarily expect to win, they lost against them 30-24 in Wales last year, so they will want to head into that match with momentum.

The Stormers are still without their Springbok stars and will only have them back when they return home in December, so will have to find ways to win with their current crop of players.

They will however need their star players such as Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel and Warrick Gelant to fire on all cylinders to give them the momentum needed for their other players to back them up.

In the end they definitely have enough firepower to do so, but they will have to be at their absolute best and produce a much better performance than they have in their losses over Glasgow Warriors and Benetton over the past two weekends if they want to claim an upset win.