Marcel Theunissen of Stormers. Picture: Shaun Roy, BackpagePix
Mike Greenaway
The Stormers are gearing up for a massive forward battle with a Sale Sharks pack spearheaded by the Du Preez twins and former Capetonian Ernst van Rhyn.
The Manchester team are in the Mother City for Saturday’s round-three Champions Cup game at the Cape Town Stadium (3pm kick-off), and coach John Dobson’s side have to win to revive their chances of advancing in the competition.
The Sale forwards have a reputation for their physicality in the English Premiership, and that is some accolade, given that the Premiership has a major focus on set-piece play.
Besides Springboks Dan and Jean-Luc du Preez and Van Rhyn, Sale have an exceptional hooker in England’s Luke Cowan-Dickie, while the younger brother of Tom Curry, Ben, is a highly-regarded flanker.
Welkom in die Kaap @SaleSharksRugby #STOvSAL #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/hPjDRqd7ku
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) January 8, 2025
But the Stormers will back themselves after encouraging performances by their forwards in recent matches.
They got on top of both the Lions and the Sharks in their recent United Rugby Championship wins, and also in the narrow loss to the Sharks in Durban. “We have been working very hard at key aspects of our forward game, and it is starting to pay off,” said No.8 Marcel Theunissen.
“Every Wednesday, we work really hard on our mauling and our scrums. Our scrum has been functioning well.
Not every team gets to play in front of a crowd like this. We go again on 11 January against Sale Sharks in the Investec Champions Cup.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) January 2, 2025
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“I thought the maul that won us the game against the Sharks the last time we played was excellent and good for our confidence. We also scored excellent maul tries against Toulon (in the Champions Cup) and against the Lions.”
But Theunissen said that the Stormers have to go up a level against Sale.
“Against Sale, you mustn’t let them dominate, and the way we have trained this week has been aimed at everyone knowing they must pitch up mentally and ready to be physical,” he said.
“We must dominate upfront. We need to be ready for what is coming at us, and give it back to them.”
Defence coach Norman Laker backed up Theunissen’s analysis of what should be done against Sale.
“They do have a massive pack and good, dynamic ball-carriers,” said Laker.
“Of course, we know the Du Preez brothers well, also Ben Curry and Ernst. Those are just four players that carry the ball very effectively for them, and they have more.
“They are extremely physical, so you have to make sure you match them in that department. If you don’t do that, they will beat you,.
“But they are not just about carrying the ball strongly to get momentum.
“They can get in a few offloads and beat you that way. Jean-Luc is one of the top offloaders in the Premiership.
“I am not sure if (England flyhalf) George Ford is playing because he was injured recently, but they have Rob du Preez, who used to play for us. He can play 10, 12 and 13.”
If the Stormers gain parity as a minimum, they should have the class and pace out wide to put Sale under serious pressure.
Theunissen said his team will not be shy to move the ball.
“Everyone knows that the Stormers like to play running rugby to please the faithful, and we are also not giving away too many tries. We can build some confidence from that,” he said.
“The previous two wins in the URC have given us confidence. There were a lot of positives to be taken out of those two games.
“We felt we played good Stormers rugby. We feel we are back to being a winning side like we used to be, and we are taking that confidence into this game.“In the Champions Cup, every game is effectively a playoff,” Theunissen said of the importance of winning.
“We will do our best, and we understand the importance of getting our first win in this competition.”