Captain Steven Kitshoff has spoken about the weight of expectation on the DHL Stormers against Connacht in the Vodacom URC semi-final in Cape Town on Saturday.
Despite the Stormers being the defending champions and having already defeated Connacht this season, in Stellenbosch, Kitshoff is wary of the Irish team’s run of form.
Speaking in a Stormers media conference on Wednesday, Kitshoff acknowledged Connacht’s efforts in the lead-up to the playoffs, with six consecutive wins and a shock victory over Ulster in Belfast in the quarter-finals.
The loosehead prop emphasised the need for the Stormers to play at their best and not allow the visitors any opportunities, stating that “if we allow them to have their tails up, it’s going to be a long day at the office”.
“They are a tough team and also have a good run of form of late, with a couple of good wins,” he said. “If we allow them to have their tails up, it’s going to be a long day at the office.
“We must get our stuff right quickly – not giving them any chances, and taking the game away from them. It’s going to be a long journey over the equator [for Connacht from Galway], and there will be a lot of factors not in the travelling team’s favour.
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“But there’s also the fact that they can pitch up and play a great game of rugby. We’ll have to be at our best to get the win.”
The Stormers have analysed the Connacht-Ulster game, and Kitshoff reckons he and his teammates have learned a lot about Connacht’s strengths, particularly their physicality and threat at the breakdown.
“We want to make sure that we get through 80 minutes and that we play well. And hopefully, we will get a chance at the cup again. That is the motivation for the next two weeks,” the veteran campaigner said.
The URC title-holders secured a home semi-final following a derby win against the Vodacom Bulls at Cape Town Stadium last week, and Kitshoff has admitted “the public expects us to win”.
“When we saw Connacht beating Ulster last week, we knew that if we beat the Bulls, we would get a home semi-final. It does build a bit of pressure, because the public expects us to win.
“They’re a physical side, they’re threatening at the breakdown. They have a good pack of forwards that operate well. After we viewed the game on Monday, we saw a lot of threats. So, there is pressure on us because they are not expected to win … all the pressure is on us.”
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