There’s been a lot of talk around rugby circles about how the DHL Stormers will be approaching Friday night’s final Vodacom URC league game given that they are already assured of a place in the quarterfinals and a win will book them an away playoff against the Glasgow Warriors.
With the alternative path for the Stormers to a potential final being Durban and then, if they win that game, a semifinal in Pretoria, it is obvious which is preferable.
If the Stormers do beat the Warriors, they will in all likelihood be up against the table topping Leinster in Dublin.
Top 8 spot secured âś…@TheStormers fans, who do you want to face in the Quarter-Finals? đź‘€@Vodacom #URC | #RaceToTheEight pic.twitter.com/4KWa5W8DGa
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 12, 2025
But while that may be the talk, and Stormers coach John Dobson has been quite open about the fact that he would prefer to be staying in South Africa to play the Hollywoodbets Sharks rather than traveling overseas to a venue where his team hasn’t won before, the Stormers have only one thing on their minds - satisfying their home fans by beating Cardiff in their final home game of the season.
“We are playing for the Stormers and we are playing for the last time this season in front of our home crowd, so we only have one thing on our minds. which is to give it our all and satisfy our loyal fans,” said prop Neethling Fouche, who will be returning to the Stormers front row for the first time since the loss to Ulster in late March after serving a suspension.
“The guys have built up a good platform for a strong finish to the season over the last few weeks so it is our responsibility to keep it going and take momentum into the playoffs. We haven’t done the sums, we just want to do the best we can.”
CARDIFF DESPERATE
The Stormers have also been reminded by their coach that they are up against a Cardiff team that has plenty to play for.
After being fifth or sixth for much of the season, the Welsh team has dropped to ninth, meaning they need to win this final game to make the playoffs, something they haven’t achieved during the URC era.
“For Cardiff this game is a playoff. It is their final. I don’t know when last they managed to make the playoffs, so if they do that it will be seen as a massive achievement. We also know they have targeted our game as their must win game on tour as we noted that they left some of their bigger names on the bench when they played the Bulls in Pretoria last week.
“That shows us what is coming. We mustn’t underestimate their level of desperation. They have been up at fifth or sixth for much of the season and they didn’t get there through luck and being a bad team. They are a very good team and we are approaching this game like that. We are definitely not going to underestimate them and we are also not looking at the log. All our focus is just on 7pm on Friday night and beating Cardiff.”
It shouldn’t be difficult for the Stormers to get up for the game for those who engage their memories of previous experiences against Cardiff.
“We lost to them last year and the year before that. Both games were away, but the fact is we lost to them two times and I think the only win we have recorded against them was in the one here in the first season of the URC,” said Fouche.
“We are expecting a tough scrumming battle as they are the best Welsh scrumming pack. They have an all Wales front row and they have a couple of other international forwards coming back into the mix for them this week too. We are going to have to build on what we have done over the last three games to get the win that we are looking for.”
The Stormers team was to have been announced on Tuesday but that team announcement has been delayed to the usual eve of the match time slot, which this week means Thursday because it is a Friday game.
Last round before the @Vodacom #URC play-offs at home on Friday night.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 12, 2025
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