Stormers geared for Champions Cup ‘playoff’ against Leicester

The Stormers are preparing for essentially a playoff match when they host English Premiership side Leicester Tigers in their final Champions Cup pool game at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

A shock 61-10 defeat against Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop over the weekend, which was their first loss of the season, saw the Stormers slip to third in their pool and has given both La Rochelle and Leicester a chance of overhauling them to make it into the last 16.

The top four in the pool move onto the competition knockouts, and should Leicester beat them with a bonus point and La Rochelle beat Harlequins, the Stormers could find themselves dropping out.

But despite their heavy defeat over the past weekend, the Stormers will start as favourites, as they sent a weakened side on tour and left a host of first stringers at home, who will all be refreshed and back in the lineup for the Leicester game.

Assistant coach Dawie Snyman said that the team viewed this weekend’s match as a knockout and that they needed to win to achieve their goals.

“It’s a playoff game for us. We have to go out and get the job done to make sure we go (through) to the following round. That’s definitely something we, at the start of the season, wanted to achieve,” said Snyman.

Ruhan Nel boost

The Stormers have been given a boost with the return of experienced centre Ruhan Nel from injury, with him back in training, but whether he will be picked in the match 23 is still unknown.

“Ruhan brings a lot, not just defensively but also as a leader. That kind of presence helps settle things when you’re under pressure,” explained Snyman about the return of a player that captained the Stormers during their strong unbeaten start to the season.

Although a large contingent of the team didn’t play in the Harlequins match, the Stormers will know they have plenty to work on and will also have to shake off the disappointment of seeing their impressive winning start to the season come to an end.

“I don’t think I have ever seen Harlequins play as well as they did against us and there was just no let up once we went behind,” said Snyman about the match.

“It was one of those kind of ‘blow out’ days. I am sure many of the players who were on the field will look at themselves and know they are capable of a lot better and that they didn’t give the best version of themselves at the Stoop.

“We were poor in pretty much all areas, we beat ourselves in one or two key moments, and we were far from the standard we expect of ourselves. There is a lot to work on after that.”