The two coastal sides are set to battle it out in a derby at what should be a packed Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Sharks captain André Esterhuizen runs away for a try in their URC match against Leinster at Kings Park in Durban over the past weekend. Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
Sharks captain André Esterhuizen is fired up for their United Rugby Championship (URC) coastal derby against the Stormers, and is particularly excited to be playing in front of what is expected to be a full house in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Sharks had a fair bit of home support for their good win over URC defending champions, Leinster, over the past weekend, with just over 28,000 people turning out at the 46,000 capacity Kings Park in Durban.
But the 55,000 capacity Cape Town Stadium is expected to be close to sold out for the first local URC derby of the season this weekend.
It is the Stormers‘ first home match of the current campaign, while their local derbies are always massively supported, as seen by the over 52,000 fans that turned up for their home clash against the Sharks last season, which was earlier this year in January.
“I am very excited. We are always looking forward to playing in a full stadium, whether it is in Cape Town or in Durban. It is going to be a tough one. We have to regroup and get back into it,” said Esterhuizen over the weekend.
Strong start
The Sharks have enjoyed a strong start to the season, with two home wins, 41-24 over Ospreys and then 26-20 over Leinster this past weekend, and they will be looking to take that momentum into the Stormers clash.
Esterhuizen said he was happy with his team’s start to the campaign, and their win over Leinster, but admitted that they still have plenty to work on heading into a tough match against a strong Stormers team.
“I think there are still a few chances that we left out there (against Leinster). A few turnovers (missed) at the breakdown, a few knock-ons, myself included, in the 22m that we can sharpen up on,” explained Esterhuizen.
“But we are building, we are getting there. It is the beginning of the season, so I am very happy to start like this and we can only build on this and get better.”
Esterhuizen also highlighted the efforts of the Sharks forwards during their win over Leinster and said that much of their good play was built through them, which is something they want to continue doing.
“I know now how hard the forwards work (with him occasionally featuring at flank for both the Boks and Sharks). It always starts with them. So to keep us in the game and give us territory, that is the key thing in Durban,” said Esterhuizen.
“Especially in difficult conditions. We need to play in the right areas of the field, and they put us in the right positions and we capitalised on a few chances.”
