Rito: It's going to be 'gloves off' in Belfast

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Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani says the Stormers are ready for a physical battle against Ulster on Friday night, and also confirms the candidates to replace Deon Fourie at No 6.

Speaking in a teleconference on Tuesday, Hlungwani and prop Sazi Sandi outlined the challenge for the Stormers in the round 14 Vodacom URC clash in Belfast.

They highlighted Ulster's physicality as a key challenge for the Cape visitors, who suffered a 35-5 defeat in their only previous visit to the Kingspan Stadium.

"They play more of a physical game [than the other Irish teams] and have a massive pack of forwards. It’s going to be a high-impact, high-collision type of game," Hlungwani said.

"They’re one of those teams that work really hard to get into your 22 and when they get in, they're very patient. They want to dominate you physically… grind, grind, grind until they get results.

"Our boys always get excited for games like this," he added. "It's going to be kind of a 'gloves off' type of a game where both packs of forwards want to show off their physicality and try and build some dominance in the game."

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Fourie suffered a concussion in last week's victory against Scarlets. Paul de Villiers has joined the squad, while Marcel Theunissen and Willie Engelbrecht are also in contention at openside flank.

"Paul de Villiers is here so he’s come to help boost the numbers, but we do have a lot of loose forwards; Marcel has played six, Willie still is here… but to answer the question, Paul de Villiers is here and also up for selection," Hlungwani said.

With five rounds remaining in the race to the URC playoffs, the log is tightly congested. The Stormers moved into eighth after their bonus-point win in Llanelli, but Ulster are just one point behind them in ninth.

"As we usually say, this is probably the most important game of the campaign," said Hlungwani. "I think we’ve come to that stage now, and the nice thing at the moment is that we sort of have control of our own destiny. 

"We’ve just got to do the job and treat every single game like it’s a playoff, and then at the end of the day, we’ll eventually get what we want."

Another area of focus this week will be the set-piece battle, the assistant coach notes, which remains the foundation for the Stormers' attacking play.

"It's extremely important that you keep winning your lineout and scrum ball; it won't always be perfect and we've had our challenges, but we keep working on it," Hlungwani said.

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"The offloads start with a positive ball carry – you can't offload if you're not going forward and that's definitely a big part of it. We have to set the right platform in order to play that type of rugby."

Sandi, who is pushing for more minutes in the absence of rested scrum anchor Frans Malherbe, is relishing the opportunity to contribute.

"It might sound cliche but it always feels better to play in a Stormers jersey. Every time the coaches give me a nod, I’m more than excited to go," the 26-year-old said.

"I feel very proud and privileged to play this weekend, and I’m excited I have the opportunity to show my skills."

The Stormers are also gearing up to play on a 4G pitch, but Sandi believes they have learned how to manage the conditions.

"We've had a few experiences in the past few years on these pitches, so we know what to expect on them and what to do now, compared to maybe the first season we played in the URC.

"We're well-versed on it and we know exactly what we need to do, come Friday,” he added.

Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile/Gallo Images

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