Head coach Dave Rennie says the All Blacks on Friday can expect a fired-up Stormers side packed with quality players out to prove a point to Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener at Cape Town Stadium, Rennie acknowledged the extra motivation on offer for those in the Stormers camp with Bok aspirations.
“Absolutely,” Rennie said. “Rassie has shown that he’s prepared to take a punt on good young players coming through, and he’s used an enormous amount of players already this year.”
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“I would imagine that everyone is excited to perform well and apply pressure or get their name in the hat,” Rennie added. “I’m sure it’s a motivating factor for them.”
He was quick to dismiss any notion that the four club matches on tour are a warm-up before the four-Test series kicks off.
“There’s no shortage of talent and depth in this country. The old days of playing a French Barbarians or a South African XV to soften you up heading into a series have changed.
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“We’re well aware of the quality of the side that we’ll play, and we’ll give them that respect,” the Kiwi said. “We’ve had a decent look at all three sides and because of a short turnaround in games, we’ve looked for common ground… areas that we expect the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls to try and stress us.
“We know the Stormers will kick a lot and apply pressure through that. They’ve got absolute lightning wheels all over the park, so we’re going to have to deal with that.
“But it does create opportunities for us; the ball will be kicked to us and if we can deal with that, then we’ll get some opportunities. Hopefully the weather plays its part.”
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Rennie, who kick-started his tenure with three successive wins in the Nations Championship, outlined what he wants from his side on Friday.
“We’ve had a little bit more time together and that’s been good, but there’s some new combinations,” he said.
“We’re going to play against a side that is very competitive in the URC, and who will be excited about the potential of an international scalp, so that makes them dangerous.
“We’ve got a Test match only around the corner and we know we’ll need to be better against the Springboks than we were in the previous three Tests.”
Photo: @THESTORMERS/X
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Head coach Dave Rennie says the All Blacks on Friday can expect a fired-up Stormers side packed with quality players out to prove a point to Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus.
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