Assistant coach Norman Laker has cautioned the Stormers against underestimating the Sharks when the coastal teams clash in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Stormers host the Durbanites at Cape Town Stadium in round nine of the Vodacom URC. John Dobson’s charges climbed into eighth spot on the standings with a 26-20 victory against the Vodacom Bulls last week, while the 15th-placed Sharks had a break.

After opening the 2023/24 season with one win in seven matches, the men from KZN are eager to get back on track by clinching a first URC victory against their Cape rivals in four meetings.

Speaking in a Stormers conference yesterday, Laker acknowledged the Sharks’ Bok stars while highlighting the teething period of a new system in John Plumtree’s second stint at the helm.

“With that amount of experience in the team, if the penny drops on the day they can beat any team in the competition.

“Plumtree is [relatively] new, there’s new players coming into the system and maybe they’re just struggling to find their feet. Once they do, they’ll be a tough team to beat.

“In this competition you can’t take any team for granted and think just because they’re not looking good on the log they can’t perform on the weekend, which is absolutely not true.”

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He added: “I spent quite a bit of time watching the Sharks-Connacht game and there were some really good signs for the Sharks on attack. They also started the game well against the Bulls at Loftus, then two or three mistakes cost them, and suddenly they were behind which made it quite difficult.

“As a team, with a new coach, it’s never easy. But like I said, on the day if the passes can stick and they click as a group, it turns around their whole season – but hopefully it doesn’t happen on Saturday! It’s going to be a tough game and we’re looking forward to it, it will be a great occasion.”

Meanwhile, Laker confirmed that scrum-half Herschel Jantjies, inside centre Dan du Plessis and fullback Warrick Gelant are available for selection.

“It’s always nice to have competition in the squad with guys returning from injury and able to be selected,” he added.