Cape Town – Former Springbok captain Bob Skinstad reckons it’s a matter of technical savvy and cutting down mistakes for the Stormers to be crowned top dogs of the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The Stormers face Ulster in the second URC semi-final on Saturday, with the Bulls taking on Leinster in Ireland on Friday.
Leinster have undoubtedly been the team to beat this season and have cemented themselves in the top spot throughout the season.
While many have, with very good reason, touted a Stormers versus Leinster final, Skinstad, one of the leading faces of the Men in Black, shared a few things that will be crucial if the Stormers not only want to get over the Ulster hurdle, but also pull off an epic victory should they progress to the finale.
“The try that was or the try that wasn’t (in the Stormers’ 23-20 victory over Ulster) … there’s a bit of needle there already. I think the Stormers will prepare slightly different. Ulster are defensively very close to the ruck, and I think the strengths (between the team) will match up well enough that it’s going to be a very good game,” Skinstad said.
“If the Stormers don’t technically do the hard yards, Ulster will pick them apart. They’ve got enough guys who can steal the ball. They need to truck it up the middle before sending it wide, so I think strategy is going to be really important in this game.
“I think they are the unpolished gem of this tournament. If they made as few mistakes as Leinster, they could be champions. Scoring tries is part of their DNA and I don’t want that to change, but they would win more games if they could do that.”
With all the hype around not only the Stormers’ Evan Roos and, by extension, the talk surrounding the Springbok loose forwards and who should get the nod, Skinstad said that it’s important not to miss the quality of the Cape side’s back row as a whole.
“Duane’s (Vermeulen) biggest strengths is his presence. If a guy like him hits a ruck, and he hits it with intent, everybody will know about it. (Hacjivah) Dayimani has been one of the finds of the season. He is an exceptional ball-carrier and he’s had some lovely bits of sleight of hand. The Evan Roos debate … don’t take away from what Hacjivah is doing. I don’t think we can take anything away from any of these Stormers loose forwards,” Skinstad said.
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