Stormers' JD Schickerling plays down 'Bomb Squad' parallels ahead of Bayonne showdown

The Stormers will step into unfamiliar territory on Friday when they open their EPCR Champions Cup campaign against Bayonne in France, and lock JD Schickerling says the squad is embracing both the challenge and the quick turnaround required to meet it.

After a bruising arm-wrestle against Munster in Limerick last Saturday — when the Stormers beat the home side to keep their unbeaten record in the United Rugby Championship — the squad has had only a handful of days to reset before facing their French opponents.

But Schickerling insists the team is unfazed by the schedule and fully focused on transferring their URC momentum into Europe’s elite competition.

The Munster clash was, in many ways, the ideal preparation for what lies ahead at the Stade Jean-Dauger. Physicality, intensity and discipline are non-negotiable against the French outfit in the Champions Cup, and the Stormers were made to summon all three in overcoming the Irish giants.

Schickerling admits the bodies are still feeling the effects.

“It’s definitely going to be something different, it’s a whole new competition. But we’re looking forward to this massive challenge,” he said.

“It’s a short turnaround this week, obviously it’s a Friday game, so we have to move on quickly from Munster and focus on this Friday.”

“There is definitely a big emphasis on our recovery as well. We are very sore from last week, but it’s not the first time we’ve had a short turnaround.

“We are professional enough to take care of ourselves and be ready for Friday.”

A subplot that will follow South African teams into Europe this season is the lingering question of whether overseas clubs will come with extra sting after the Springboks obliterated all and sundry during their November tour.

The Springboks made light work of France, Italy, Ireland and Wales to cement their place atop the rugby rankings.

Schickerling, though, is not entertaining any speculation, saying they are focusing on themselves.

“I’m not sure how to answer that … what their (Bayonne’s) mindset will be,” he said. “It doesn’t really affect how we want to play.

“Our biggest thing is to pitch up on Friday and make sure that we stick to our game plan and structures and do what we can focus on and what we can control.”

What they are firmly in control of is their resolve, something that was on display in the second half against Munster when the Stormers fought back to down the Irish giants.

A big part of that fightback was the effort of their bench, who came on “Bomb Squad-style” on Saturday as coach John Dobson threw on all his replacements at the same time.

It has prompted comparisons with the Springboks’ famed use of their bench, but Schickerling downplayed the notion of a formalised Stormers equivalent.

“We don’t really have a thing like the Bomb Squad going like the Springboks,” he said.

“Obviously it worked for us this weekend. For that game we knew that was going to be our plan, all of us going on.

“The guys who started had to chip away at them for us, and we knew that our job was to finish the game, so we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I mean, we all know how good Munster is, and, yeah, we’re just happy we got the result.”