The Stormers will hope to get their Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start against Aviron Bayonnais in France on Friday night.
The Stormers are eager to get their EPCR Champions Cup campaign off to the best possible start, with a win over Aviron Bayonnais in Bayonne on Friday night (kick-off 10pm), as they target a home playoff in the competition.
Last season the Stormers endured a dreadful Champions Cup, picking up just one win to finish bottom of their pool, which dumped them straight out of the tournament.
This season they want to try and emulate their first appearance in the competition, back in 2022-23, when they won three out of four pool matches, which secured them a home round of 16 knockout, and saw them reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Exeter Chiefs.
Director of Rugby John Dobson said that the team were grateful to a friendlier schedule this season, which already sees them on the road having played Munster in Limerick last weekend, whereas last season they had a much more difficult travel schedule.
“We want a home round of 16 game at the Cape Town Stadium, like we had in our earlier years of playing in the Champions Cup. Last year we started at home and then were on the back foot when we lost a very physical game against Toulon,” said Dobson.
“Our Champions Cup games were sandwiched in between two big URC derbies (last season) and we were struggling in the URC so we had to go with an under-strength team to our second match against Harlequins in London.
“We did do some good things in the Champions Cup (picked up a big home win over Sale Sharks) but we were behind the eight-ball from the start and we didn’t make it into the round of 16.”
Perfectly timed
Dobson continued: “This time, last week’s game in Limerick was perfectly timed as we could mix up our URC and Champions Cup goals on the same trip, and we didn’t have to send out a separate team for the Champions Cup game, we have the draw working for us.
“The only time we may be compromised is later in the competition when we are set to play Harlequins overseas with a short turnaround before an important URC game.”
The Stormers terrific early form this season will also be a major boost for them heading into the match, with Dobson admitting that their unbeaten start to the URC, which has included a number of big wins on the road, gives them plenty of confidence heading into a tricky match in France.
“That does make a big difference, as does the confidence we have built by winning six games in a row,” admitted Dobson.
“I have told them (the team) to embrace the challenge, this is a great experience for us and even if something does go wrong and we don’t reach our target of winning, we will still get something out of this game (in terms of experience.”
After Friday nights match the Stormers return to South Africa, with them taking on La Rochelle in their second round match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha next Saturday.
