The in-form Stormers will be chasing a ninth straight win, while the Lions will be hunting a first win in Cape Town since URC season one.
Two of South Africa’s most exciting teams, the Stormers and Lions, are going to battle it out in what should be a thrilling game of running rugby when they collide in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3:30pm).
Both teams are well known for their attacking brand of rugby, and with a warm sunny day in Cape Town expected, conditions will be perfect to throw the ball around.
The Lions will be desperate to get back to winning ways, after their three-game winning run in the URC was halted in the Challenge Cup, with them going down to Benetton and Newcastle.
Before that the Lions had beaten Scarlets and Ulster at home, and picked up a superb win over the Bulls at Loftus, and they will hope returning to the URC, with a fresh team, will get them back to winning ways.
“The URC is our big competition in which we want to perform well. I think we must get our players fresh to play in this competition,” explained Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie.
“Last week, we took young guys to Newcastle and saw how well they performed to almost win. Leaving some of the guys at home to have them fresh for this weekend, was crucial.”
Fourie admitted that the Lions wouldn’t be tempering their game, because the Stormers play a similar brand, and that they also wouldn’t be putting too much focus on their star players, like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach.
Nothing to lose
“We have nothing to lose, and we want to run the ball. We want to play Lions rugby, however, we must follow our processes.
“There won’t be a focus on any specific player in their team. As an outfit, from the front to the back, they have good players. This will be a good challenge for us. If a team is flying this high, they are ripe for the picking.”
The Stormers are the form team in the URC, having won all six of their matches to currently sit top of the log, and they continued that unbeaten start to their season with two wins in the Champions Cup over the past two weekends.
They will thus be favourites back on their home turf, but backline coach Dawie Snyman says they can’t take anything for granted and that they’ll have to be at their best.
“We did well on the road (winning five straight away games), but that’s not going to count for anything if you don’t capitalise at home. Derby games are always big, it’s almost like a double swing with the points, especially when they’re home games,” admitted Snyman.
“You don’t go to Loftus and win by accident, and they proved that a couple of weeks ago. They’re a dangerous side with individuals who can hurt you if you’re not switched on.
“Their set-piece is good, and like all SA derbies, there’s always a sting to it. Every contest becomes a battle. The breakdowns, aerial contests, everything.”
