‘Nothing to lose or fear’ is a probable apt summation of the Cardiff attitude as they come as underdogs to Cape Town for Saturday’s Vodacom URC quarterfinal and that is a good reason for the DHL Stormers to consider them dangerous opponents.
Stalwart tighthead prop Neethling Fouche made it clear early in the week that his men will be expecting the visitors to have sorted out some of the scrum issues that blighted them in an otherwise strong performance at Cardiff Arms Park and the words of the man who did so much to disrupt the Cape team at the breakdown that night, Dan Thomas, can be regarded as a warning.
According to breakdown specialist Thomas, the 22-16 win over the inaugural champions proved to the Cardiff team that they can compete with the Stormers - and that’s exactly what they have come to Cape Town to do. Thomas, who won the Cardiff Player of the Season Award at the end of the league campaign, says the motto this week is “no excuses and no fear”.
“From minute (of that game in Cardiff) everyone’s attitude was there. There wasn’t a feeling of ‘We will feel our way into this game’. It was ‘From minute one we will take the game to them’.”
Cardiff did that and then some after weathering an initial seven minute storm that saw the visitors take a deserved 7-0 lead, with their determination and organisation on defence, helped in no small part by Thomas’ work at the breakdowns, ensuring that Adre Smith’s try was the only time that the Stormers crossed the Cardiff chalk.
NEETHLING EXPECTING SCRUM BOUNCE BACK FROM VISITORS
The fact that they were under so much pressure at scrum time throughout the game made the Cardiff victory quite freaky - and the Stormers have been challenging themselves to improve further in that phase as they know that the Welsh scrum will be coming to DHL Stadium on a revenge mission.
The Stormers’ Bok prop Fouche worked under current Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl when he was on loan at the Toyota Cheetahs for a brief spell and his knowledge of the Cardiff mentor has led to him anticipating a bounce back from the visitors in the set pieces.
“Coach Corniel (van Zyl) is sharp. He would have analysed the scrums closely and we expect a stronger effort there from this time. We know they will be better and will come with a plan,” Fouché said.
Fouche also laughed off any suggestion that the Stormers might feel complacent now that the theatre of battle has been transferred from the fast, bouncy 4G surface in Cardiff to the lush green grass that the Stormers trained on on Wednesday.
“There’s no chat about us suddenly being comfortable because we’re back on grass. The focus is on executing the plans we have,” said the Springbok prop.
“WE KNOW WHAT’S COMING”
Of course a grassy field won’t be as alien to Cardiff as a 4G surface is to the Stormers because they play on grassy fields in most of their away matches. And Thomas stresses that playing in front of what should be a big and partisan Cape Town crowd will not overawe himself or his teammates.
“We’ve all travelled enough now to know what’s happening and what’s coming,” he said, adding that because of the two week break from the last league game there are no excuses around travel or sore bodies.
Thomas said that mindset would dictate whether Cardiff has a chance of backing up the league win with another in the first playoff match.
“As long as your mentality is up there, your body will catch up. If you’re not up for it mentally, you shouldn’t be on the pitch,” said Thomas.
The flanker has had an outstanding campaign, marking 248 tackles in Cardiff’s campaign, which was better than anyone else during the league phase, and even more important has been the turnovers he has completed - 17.
Cardiff narrowly missed out on the playoffs last season, something Thomas says fuelled the squad throughout this campaign as they strive to make up for that disappointment. It also adds to the determination to make the most of this first appearance in a URC playoff game.
“We wanted to be in the playoff mix because anything can happen then. You play rugby to win things. You want to win silverware.”
That said, there will be less expectation on Cardiff, who were considered to have pulled off a major upset in the final league game even though they have only been beaten once at home this season. That means they have less to lose than the hosts, and the Stormers will know that fact makes them dangerous.