Stormers captain Ruhan Nel warned his side against being too complacent against the Dragons on Sunday in their URC encounter following their spirited victory over the Bulls last weekend in Pretoria.
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The Stormers aren’t getting carried away after their big derby win over the Bulls — and influential captain Ruhan Nel is making sure of that.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the lowly Dragons in Cape Town (3pm kick-off), Nel was quick to point out how easy it is for a team to lose focus after a result like that.
The Stormers claimed a 32-19 bonus point win at Loftus Versfeld and currently occupy second place on the official log. It’s a position that puts them on course for a home playoff should they reach the quarter-finals.
With six matches left in the round-robin stages, the Cape side knows they can’t lift their foot off the accelerator, especially when they face so-called weaker teams.
“You can easily fall into the trap of looking at the Bulls side and telling yourself if you get over that hurdle, you should be able to take a Dragons team that’s sitting 14th on the log,” Nel said on Thursday.
“I think you can become very comfortable and pleased with yourself, and then once those micro-details start lacking, it’s just a snowball effect.”
Instead, the focus this week for the inaugural URC winners has been on resetting following their exploits in the South African capital. The emotional intensity of a derby can linger, but the Stormers have made a conscious effort to move on quickly.
And with a rejigged lineup for this battle, they are ready to continue their quest to stay at the top of the pile.
Springbok Damian Willemse will start at fullback. There is a return for winger Seabelo Senatla and inside centre Dan du Plessis following injuries, while eighthman Evan Roos returns to the team after missing the Bulls clash with a small niggle.
Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will combine with the exciting Imad Khan at scrumhalf. At the same time, a rotation up front sees hooker JJ Kotzé and loosehead prop Vernon Matongo packing down with Bok Neethling Fouché as they look to set the tone in the scrums.
“I must say, I think this week we’ve actually put the Bulls behind us pretty quickly. Those derbies — obviously, the only thing you can take out of that is a win. There’s so much emotion that goes into that game, so we parked that pretty quickly.
“I thought our desperation at Loftus was almost like it was at the beginning of the season. Once you start drifting away from those things that make you good, before you know it, you can actually miss the mark quite a bit.
“They’re (the Dragons) probably the strongest defensive side since the new year. They’ve got some big ball-runners and guys who love to tackle. Flyhalf Tinus de Beer has a very smart, educated boot on him, and they like to have a crack with ball in hand as well.”
For the Stormers, the message is clear: Sunday isn’t about what happened last week. It’s about staying grounded, sticking to their standards, and making sure complacency doesn’t undo all their hard work.
However, they’ve set out to entertain their supporters as they return to the DHL Stadium for the first time in over a month.
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Paul de Villiers, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane.