The DHL Stormers will head into Saturday’s penultimate Vodacom URC league game against the Dragons not only feeling like they are peaking at the right time but also continuing a trend for them this season that might just help them when the knockout phase arrives.
Of course, it is still possible the Stormers won’t reach the playoffs, but to drop out of the top eight from their current sixth position would probably require them to lose two home games, starting with the last placed Dragons at DHL Stadium on Saturday night.
It’s certainly looking a lot more likely now than it was in mid-season, certainly from around the time they went to Pretoria to play the Bulls in early March.
They faced a must-win scenario then at a very difficult away venue against top opponents who forever have a score to settle with their Cape rivals. Had they lost at Loftus they would have had to win all their remaining six games, including two overseas.
So it was a de-facto knock-out fixture, and the Stormers, who were still quite under-strength at that phase of the season, managed to score a great win.
They’ve had to keep winning since then, with the minimum requirement being five wins from six games, and it put them on a knock-out footing early.
Although they don’t want to look too far ahead to a potential quarterfinal meeting with the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban, their aim is to finish fifth - which would in all probability mean they stay in South Africa for the first playoff game.
PRESSURE IS STILL ON
So the pressure is still on, and they remain on a knock-out footing, with Cardiff, currently one point ahead of them in fifth position on the log, looming as a big obstacle in their final league game.
One thing that has changed having Cardiff as the only hurdle to their fifth-placed ambitions is that they no longer need to be quite as pre-occupied with getting four try bonus points.
Given who is playing who in these final weeks, wins will be enough. Which further replicates the playoff dry run that the Stormers have been on now since the last weeks of February when they lost an away derby to the Emirates Lions.
“We just need to get the results in these last two games, that is the most important thing,” agreed Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman.
“If you look at the scenario we faced a few weeks ago when we had to win almost all our remaining games, we’ve been on a knockout footing for a while now.
We have managed to get ourselves to a point where the result (meaning the win) is more important than whether we pick up four points or five points. Two wins in two games is what we need.”
USED TO HAVING GUN TO THEIR HEADS
It’s been a tough time for the Stormers and while obviously a top four finish, which would have clinched a home playoff, would have been preferable to having to travel in the playoff rounds, Snyman reckons the pressure they have been under may turn out to be their friend when the knockout rounds do arrive.
“We have been a bit off the radar in terms of our prepping and been under quite a bit of pressure for most of the season, which is a good thing,” said the Stormers attack coach.
“Going into a playoff game when you haven’t been under a lot of pressure is not always great for a squad. We feel we know what (playoff) pressure is about now, we know what it is like to go out in every game and fight for your life because the consequences are that you are out of the competition.”
Unsurprisingly, Snyman reckons the Stormers are peaking at the right time, with the big win over Benetton last time out being a statement performance.
“If you look at that performance there was a lot of stuff we have been working on that we wanted to get right and we did that. So that gives us confidence as a group.
"We know the plan is working and we have an understanding of what we are trying to do and that has put us in a good position to win games.”
DAMIAN RECKONS GOOD PREP HAS BEEN KEY
Springbok utility back Damian Willemse, who will be playing his landmark 100th game for the Stormers at the age of just 26 against the Dragons, agrees with Snyman.
“We are quietly and confidently heading back into that space we were in when we won the trophy in 2022,” said Willemse.
Of course winning the competition will have to be done the hard way this time. In the inaugural season the Stormers played the entire playoff phase at home. But Willemse believes that the preparation is now so on point for the Stormers that anything is possible.
“The preparation has been the main thing for us. We have actually been a bit unlucky at times, even against Ulster playing away,” he said.
“Against Scarlets, where we won, there were good signs, and then for the Ulster game the following week our preparation went really well before a couple of lapses in concentration brought them back into the game.
"Against a team like Ulster on their home ground you can’t afford that. We made it difficult for ourselves, and then a few 50/50 calls went against us, like Neethling Fouche’s red card, then another yellow that saw us playing with 13 men at one point.
“Our discipline has been really good during the week. There hasn’t been one week recently where we haven’t hit the nail on the head (with our preparation) and started well. Against Ulster we were 17 points up, against Connacht we started well then gave away easy tries, no cards or avoidable penalties that tripped us up. It has been an accumulation of building blocks.
“The coaching has been really good. We dialled in defensively after Connacht, and the confidence has been oozing through from deep within. This team is wanting to be better every day, with every game we played, and over the past few weeks we have seen that start coming together.”
BALANCING HARD WORK WITH NEED TO BE FRESH
The Stormers took the long weekend off as Snyman feels it is crucial to get the balance right between pushing too hard and being fresh and ready for the big games.
“It is all about momentum at this stage of the season, it is about finding your groove as a group,” said Snyman.
“Last week we gave the guys a bit of time off, which is also important as you have to measure how hard you are going to train and how much better you are going to get through doing that against what you are going to get in terms of mental freshness (if you ease off a bit).
Maybe there is a time you should prioritise giving the guys a chance to get rid of a few niggles and getting them mentally right. We are in a good space. We are ready for the last few games and looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead of us.”