'The whole of South Africa knows how good the Stormers are mauling at the moment,' said the Sharks hooker.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi said the Sharks are preparing for a gruelling showdown with a Stormers forward pack that has driven much of the Cape Town side’s success this season with dominant scrums and mauls.
The 35-year-old Springbok, who spent seven seasons at the Stormers before moving to Durban in the 2021/22 season, said they have thoroughly analysed the Cape side’s strengths and weaknesses and are shaping their game plans in training ahead of two United Rugby Championship derbies against the table-toppers.
The Sharks and Stormers play their first coastal derby on Saturday (kick-off 7.30pm) in Cape Town and then repeat the clash the following Saturday at Kings Park in Durban.
Both teams come from wins in the Champions Cup, but while the Stormers will progress to the round of 16, the Sharks drop into the second-tier Challenge Cup.
‘How good the Stormers are mauling’
Back to the URC, the Stormers are still undefeated in eight matches. The Sharks linger at 14th with just two wins.
They have, however, recorded three wins out of five under new interim coach JP Pietersen despite the former Shark and Springbok wing utilising the same rotation policies as his predecessor, John Plumtree.
But they will be tested like never before in the front, against a pack including the likes of André Hugo-Venter, Neethling Fouché, Zachary Porthen, Ben-Jason Dixon, Salmaan Moerat, JD Schickerling, Evan Roos, Marcel Theunissen, Ruan Ackermann and rising star Paul de Villiers.
“The whole of South Africa knows how good the Stormers are mauling at the moment,” said Mbonambi.
“It’s not just this season. They’ve done it in the past as well. It’s a big weapon for them.”
The hooker said the Sharks have done their homework by watching clips of the Stormers, and may see an opportunity to stop their maul.
Sharks back their own in huge URC derby
But the Durban side are also backing their own pack, with an all-Springbok front row (Mbonambi, Ox Nché and Vincent Koch) often in the mix.
“There is definitely going to be a big forwards battle. It comes down to the prep you do during the week. We put a lot of work into our scrum, mauling, forwards play. I am sure they will do the same thing.”
He said many youngsters coming through the ranks will want to leave a mark in such an important derby.
“It will come down to the game, to who wants it more. It will a physical game, a good old South African derby between quality sides.”
