Stormers to 'go beyond hard' in Sharks duel

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Assistant coach Rito Hlungwani is expecting a physical battle when the Stormers face a SA-powered Sale Sharks outfit in a blockbuster Investec Champions Cup tie on Saturday.

The teams clash at Cape Town Stadium in the penultimate pool round of the 2024-25 competition, with the Stormers desperate to pick up their first win to remain in the race for a playoff spot after two defeats.

The Sharks arrive in Cape Town with a 1-1 record this season, and the Stormers will be wary of the fact that the tourists comprehensively beat French giants Racing 92, who host the Stormers in France next week.

Sale boss Alex Sanderson has also picked the Du Preez brothers, who are all Springboks, in the same starting XV for the first time this term. Flyhalf Rob du Preez will lead the team while twins Jean-Luc and Dan start at No 6 and 8, respectively.

Paarl-born Hyron Andrews joins former Stormer Ernst van Rhyn in an all-South African second row.

"I had a sneak preview on their team that's come out and it is going to be a physical confrontation type of game," said Hlungwani during a Stormers team announcement conference on Friday.

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"Dan du Preez is at eight, his brother [Jean-Luc] is at six and you've got Ernst operating there [at lock]…

"That's how they play – a very physical team – and they're going to come hard at us, and we've got to match that and go beyond."

Asked whether this week’s game has the potential to be a statement victory for the Stormers following back-to-back derby wins in the Vodacom URC at the close of 2024, Hlungwani said: "We're just pushing ourselves to be better than what we were last week.

“I know I say this quite a lot but that's what we talk about. We thought we were quite decent against the Lions, and improved a bit against the Sharks, but the big thing for us is can we even get better?

"Whatever happens on whether we make a statement or not we take what we get, and what we really want to control is how we improve as a team."

On the importance of Saturday's result for the team's EPCR campaign, he added: "It's a very important game for us. We've pretty much put ourselves under a bit of pressure to improve from our last two performances.

"It's extremely important to go as hard as we can to get the victory. That's what we've really prepared for, to make sure that we're better, and hopefully that yields a very good result for us."

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

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