Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani says the Stormers are dead-set on returning home from Friday night’s clash in Belfast still seated at the head of the Vodacom URC table.
Jon Dobson’s charges top the standings ahead of their clash with eighth-placed Ulster at the Affidea Stadium. The Stormers will also face an Ulster team buoyed by victory over Exeter that booked their spot in the EPCR Challenge Cup final.
The Ulstermen are only three points above Connacht in ninth, with only two rounds remaining of the regular season until the playoffs.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Hlungwani told reporters: “We’re also going to be very desperate. It won’t be nice for us to leave Cape Town and then come back not being first.
“So we’re really going there to do the best we can to maintain that No 1 position.”
In the 2022-2023, the Stormers were blown away 35-5 in Belfast; last season they narrowly missed out 38-34.
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“I think our experience over the past couple of years has really prepared us to be comfortable every time we go overseas,” Hlungwani said.
“We’ve picked up some good form through tough games recently and we really back ourselves to put our best foot forward.”
He believes that the team’s game has evolved to adapt to all conditions: “Before, people saw us as a team that just wants to run the ball, but now we can adapt.
“We can play in dry weather, wet weather, windy conditions and on 4G. That’s important for these kinds of matches.”
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A key challenge is the 4G surface in Belfast, yet Hlungwani insists the Stormers have learnt valuable lessons from previous trips up north.
“The first time we went there, we didn’t spend a lot of time training on it,” he said. “The boys take a long time to recover if you do that. So this time we’ve tried to finish all our work at home.”
“It’s a really fast pitch. The ball bounces a lot more and it keeps rolling, so the kicking game becomes important. The momentum you get from carries is different, so you’ve got to get your height right. Even in the tackle, you’ve got to be accurate. Those are small details, but they matter.”
The squad is scheduled to depart on Monday night, before arriving in Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
Photo: @THESTORMERS/X
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