The DHL Stormers are confident of handling Galway’s gale-force winds on Saturday far better than when they last faced Connacht at the Sportsground in the first edition of the Vodacom URC. DYLAN JACK reports.
On the back of a bonus-point victory against the Dragons in Newport, the DHL Stormers have made the long trip across to Galway, returning to Ireland’s west coast for the first time since January 2022.
Of course, playing in the northern hemisphere as spring gives way to summer will be much fairer to the Stormers as the visitors look to end their two-match Vodacom URC tour unbeaten.
Defence coach Norman Laker explained during an online press conference on Tuesday afternoon that the Stormers are far more comfortable with conditions now than when they were last in Galway.
“Our first day of training was in a little bit of rain yesterday,” Laker said. “It stopped and then it was just overcast.
“Our first day of training when we were previously here, we had to stop because it started to hail. Everyone was standing under a blanket because it was hailing so hard. We had to restart training.
“So it’s completely different. The wind is still blowing because it’s quite close to the coast. It reminds me of Strand, playing at Charles Morkel. One half, you will play against the wind and one half you will play with it. At least the ball won’t be as wet as it was in the previous game.”
The Stormers have beaten Connacht in their last two encounters against Ireland’s underdog province in Stellenbosch and Cape Town, but lost their only match in Galway in tricky conditions.
“In that game we had two yellow cards,” Laker recalled. “Ruhan Nel for a high tackle and Sergeal Petersen, who was playing at fullback. Dan du Plessis and Warrick Gelant were ruled out with a concussion and hamstring injury. So we had to reshuffle our team.
“Sergeal started at fullback, we had Angelo Davids and Seabelo Senatla on the wings. We played for 15 minutes with 14 men, which made it quite tough in Connacht. To defend with 13 guys, especially without your fullback, Connacht put us under pressure.
“We were leading 17-7 at one stage and lost 19-17. It was a hard loss, but we’ve learned a lot of lessons coming here,” Laker added. “We are a much better team now, playing in these conditions.”
Like the Stormers, Connacht are also pushing for a place in the URC playoffs and have signaled Saturday’s match as a do-or-die “cup final”, as a loss would mean they would have to beat Leinster to stand any chance of sneaking into the top eight.
“Connacht is a quality outfit,” Laker said. “Previously, they have been coached by Andy Friend, who is a really quality coach. He has put in structures that will last for a while. Their attacking structure is very similar to the rest of the Irish teams.
“They are a ball-in-hand team. They like to put you under pressure with the ball in hand. We need to be on song this weekend to stop their big ball carriers.”
Photo: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile via Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
