The Stormers and the Sharks will both be gunning for United Rugby Championship (URC) derby glory when they collide at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night (kick-off 7:30pm).
It is a match-up between two teams on different ends of the log, with the Stormers styling at the top after winning all eight games so far, while the Sharks are languishing in 14th, having picked up two wins, a draw and five losses over their campaign so far.
Both teams will thus be desperate to win for different reasons, the Stormers to keep their incredible unbeaten run intact, while the Sharks will want to claw their way up the log and back into contention for a place in the top eight.
First defeat
The Stormers suffered their first defeat of the season, against Harlequins in the Champions Cup just a few weeks ago, but bounced back with a win over Leicester Tigers in Cape Town over the past weekend.
They will be welcoming a few star players back for the big derby, and are expecting to come up against a star studded Sharks team, but in-form flank Paul de Villiers says that although he is excited for a potential battle against Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, they aren’t focusing on who they may face.
“It is any player’s dream to test yourself against the best, whether it be Siya or any of their other (star) players,” admitted De Villiers.
“So I am looking forward to it, but we will focus on our game and not the names the Sharks will bring. They are on the up. It will be important to maintain our standards and every weekend we strive to reach it. Some weekends we do good, others not so.
“We will take confidence into this match (knowing they are unbeaten against the Sharks in Cape Town), but we also know prior results don’t really count in a derby. It is always 50/50. Whoever they bring, won’t impact our preparation.”
The Sharks
The Sharks had a dismal start to the season, but have been improving in recent times, although their results are still up and down.
After a URC win against the Bulls at the end of December, they fell to a loss against the Lions, before losing in the Champions Cup against Sale Sharks, but then bounced back with a big win over Clermont over the past weekend.
Despite their losing run in Cape Town, interim coach JP Pietersen believes his charges can take that momentum from the weekend’s win into the match and break their URC duck in the Cape, with the benches expected to play a big role in the game.
“It’s a match 23 team. There are no more starts or benches. It’s a collective thing. The previous result shows that we came up short but hopefully we can rewrite that this weekend,” said Pietersen.
“We want to win. The only way you can change the story is to play your game and put the Stormers under pressure. They are a good side so you must respect them. But we will be given opportunities, and we must take them.”
