It will be a clash of two desperate teams when the Stormers and Ulster go head-to-head in their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter in Belfast on Friday night.
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However, they are two teams on either end of the playoff race, with the Stormers hoping to keep hold of top spot on the log, while Ulster, in eighth place, don’t want to fall out of the knockout places ahead of the final pool round next weekend.
The hosts have fellow Irish side Connacht just three points behind them, and a defeat could allow them to move ahead if they win a huge derby match against Munster.
Home knockouts
This, while the Stormers are hopeful of earning home knockout games all the way to the final, if they get there, should they end the pool phase at the top of the standings.
They have Glasgow Warriors just a point behind them, while the third and fourth placed Lions and Leinster sit three back, and fifth on the log, Munster, are also in range, five points off them, so if they were to lose their last two games, they could even risk dropping out of the top four.
It is thus a game with huge ramifications for both teams and they will thus be going all out to secure what would be an extremely valuable win.
“We’re also going to be very desperate. It won’t be nice for us to leave Cape Town and then come back not being first so we’re really going there to do the best we can to maintain that number one position,” said Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani earlier this week.
“I think our experience over the past couple of years has really prepared us to be comfortable every time we go overseas. We’ve picked up some good form through tough games recently and we really back ourselves to put our best foot forward.”
Improved touring
Over their first three seasons in the URC the Stormers were considered a very poor touring side, but they picked up some good away wins last season, and this campaign have seemed to come right, with them breaking new ground in beating Munster and Benetton away for the first time.
They now want to continue doing that by securing a first ever win over Ulster in Belfast, and they will lean heavily on their experience against Munster, as that game was also played on a 4G artificial pitch.
“Our mindset for this game will be very similar to the one we took onto the field against Munster earlier in the season,” explained Hlungwani.
“I know we are playing on a different type of pitch, but we had never won there (Thomond Park) before and we won that game. We had also never won in Treviso, and we won there. Our preparation is very different for this kind of game than it has been in the past and it really does make a difference.
“The game model has evolved for overseas games. It is different on 4G, and we don’t have a good record on 4G pitches, but we have played on them often enough now and are getting more used to them.”
The Stormers conclude their round robin fixtures with a match against Cardiff next weekend.