DHL Stormers skills guru and performance analyst Labeeb Levy told Telecom Asia Sport that “Our players don’t need any motivation when playing the Bulls and we want to go all the way and repeat what we did in season 1 of the United Rugby Championship.”
We know the task won’t be easy but we must front up at home and beat the Bulls.
The DHL Stormers are back home in the Mother City, Cape Town after a 2 match tour of Europe where they unfortunately suffered 2 defeats at the hands of French Outfit Racing in the Investec Champions Cup as well as table toppers and undefeated Leinster in the United Rugby Championship.
However, this Saturday the 8 th of February they take on their arch rivals the Vodacom Bulls at DHL Stadium. It is a match that the DHL Stormers will feel they must win, especially given that they are unbeaten at home at the DHL stadium this season and they will be playing in front of their faithful fans.
Coach Labeeb touched on various aspects of their game they want to improve on against the bulls.
I think the last couple of weeks, we did our reviews, the learnings-were the new rules and adapting to that, then we identified the set piece, we had one or two challenges in the lineouts, holding on to the ball at times on attack and as well as the breakdowns, I think we can do much better at the breakdowns and protecting our ball better.
I think the conditions in Europe also played a huge role, we play in different conditions in Europe with the weather being -2 degrees and then back home we play in hot weather conditions where it reaches over 30 plus degrees, so our team has had to adapt to the conditions and maybe kicking is one aspect which should look to improve and use more often for our transitional play, but overall, we know we can improve and get better as a team in the upcoming games.
He then touched on the what the Bulls will bring to the game on Saturday in the big derby.
With the bulls we always know what to expect, we all know the Bulls will bring a hard game, a physical game and a committed game.
They are a very dangerous side with ball in hand and they have some big superstars in that team. You know before covid they had our number and beat us, but post covid in this URC we had the streak of 7 victories over them and the finally we lost at loftus versveld last year, so they broke the duck and now there will be a bit of belief there, but we know we have the recipe to beat them, but it’s not going to be easy, we must rock up, commit and give everything for 80minutes.
One player that has stood out for DHL Stormers this season and could play a big role in the outcome of the game this Saturday, is Warrick Gelant. All the amazing things he does on a rugby field is very much a product of Coach Labeeb and his coaching touches.
I would like to claim him and that I work very hard with Warrick, but he is a natural and spends a lot of time in his game and he does get lots of critics with his error rate but he does plenty of work with me that not many people are aware of and he is a special player to work with.
Labeeb Levy and the DHL Stormers team will have a massive task on hand and will need to ensure they empty the tank this Saturday. They currently sit at 12th position on the log and with a bonus point victory over the bulls they will climb up the table and go into 7th position, which will mean they get into that playoff spot (top 8).
In the context of the season it could determine if they get a playoff spot firstly, then possibly a home quarter final and finally if they win the South African shield. All in all, Saturdays clash is going to be a mouthwatering contest and a game that will be watched very closely and with so many superstars on show.
The fans will be in for a treat as the contest will be played in dry and hot conditions where hopefully we will see plenty of tries being scored for both teams respectively. In the bigger picture of things, a North vs South derby tends to show how healthy South African rugby is with so much talent, depth and world class players on display and ultimately this bodes well for the Springboks at national level.
The match will kick off at 2pm in the afternoon in front of a sold crowd at the DHL Stadium.
