The Stormers pride themselves on being adaptable and being able to change their game plan on the fly if things are not going their way during a match.
It is the same adaptability they’ll need tomorrow evening when they take on the Dragons in Newport (8.35pm kick-off, SA time) during their first of two matches on tour in the final stages of the United Rugby Championship.
Rodney Parade won’t be a welcoming stadium, and the Dragons, alongside their home crowd, will try to tighten the screws on the Stormers’ attacking game they want to play.
A win will be the first prize for the Cape side, but they will also be chasing a full house of five points to stay among the top eight teams on the URC log.
The hybrid surface will likely allow them to continue with their expansive game model. But if they can’t fully utilise it, fullback Warrick Gelant believes they will be able to adapt to what the circumstances ask of them.
“These two matches will be important for us. It’s a must-win, no matter the conditions. We have to adapt to whatever happens,” Gelant told the Stormers website.
“Going forward in the knockouts, we might find ourselves in a similar situation. So, it’s important for us to find ourselves as a team and see how we can adapt to different conditions.”
All to play for on a crucial two-match @Vodacom #URC tour. #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/eQeJJJbRMQ
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 6, 2024
South African teams have been struggling to find their feet overseas, and the unfamiliar weather conditions and different pitches have played a massive role in that.
While it’s been a teething problem over the past two seasons, things have got gradually better in terms of getting results overseas.
The Stormers find themselves in a position where they haven’t won in the URC outside South Africa this season, and it is something Gelant and his teammates will want to set right tomorrow.
Coming off a thrashing of Leinster at home, they will have all the confidence after putting five tries past the Irishmen for a 42-12 win on April 27.
Gelant scored the final try in that match with a spectacular dummy pass that baffled two Leinster defenders and a sprint along the touchline to go over in the corner.
“It was a special feeling,” the 28-year-old fullback said of the win.
Here is the 27-man DHL Stormers touring squad that leaves Cape Town today for a two-match @Vodacom #URC trip to Wales and Ireland.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) May 7, 2024
All the details 👉 https://t.co/RcOmI7ZI9f#iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/xPt6EiuR0X
“After we lost against Ospreys, we knew the situation that we put ourselves in. It’s a must-win situation now, going forward.
“Preparing for a team like Leinster puts you in that mindset of ‘there won’t be any easy points’. We knew the importance of what we had to do to secure the maximum points against them.”
Now, they’ll have to dish up the same tomorrow evening to be in with a shout of claiming five points.
The Stormers can’t afford another loss on tour becauser the remaining two matches are tough clashes against Connacht next Saturday in Galway, and a South African derby against the Lions in Cape Town.