Cape Town – As Stormers loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff said earlier this week – winning becomes a habit. And getting the W is an action the Stormers sure have made repetitive this season.
Going into their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final against Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow (kick-off 7pm), John Dobson’s group shook off a tough start to the competition to go on and win 12 of their 18 fixtures – eight of those on the trot – and have lost at home just once since their 37-19 stumble against the Lions back in December.
It’s no wonder, then, that Springbok front-rower Kitshoff is fancying their chances of going to distance.
“To be honest, this team is in a really good spot. We are quite excited. The buzz around training is very exciting. So, I think we have a great chance,” said Kitshoff yesterday.
“Winning becomes a habit, and I truly believe it,” Kitshoff said.
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“If something quickly happens – like when we went behind to Scarlets early in the game – you look at how the guys kept on sticking to the way we play, nobody started panicking and we clawed our way back.
“This team, in the way we have been preparing over the last three months, it’s been about guys believing in the structures, believing that this is the way we are going to win games. That belief translates into the way we play.
“In tight games, it can always come down to a drop of the ball or a penalty here or there to win or lose the game. But if we stick to our plan, we know we will create opportunities to score tries and prevent teams from scoring points. That’s how we see we can win big games.”
Speaking to the media this week, Edinburgh anchor and Scotland international WP Nel made it clear that they are expecting a proper battle against the Stormers’ Bok-rich front row.
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Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe are set to come across familiar opponents in South African-born Nel and Pierre Schoeman when they pack down and, as much as the Stormers pack has been hyped up (for good reason), Kitshoff said he’s looking forward to the ‘interesting’ challenge of facing them.
“It wasn’t that long ago that they were playing their rugby in South Africa. I have played a few games against them. Watching them play in Scotland, they have been performing quite well.
“Edinburgh has a very good pack of forwards, a bunch of big guys, strong ball-carriers. They’ve got good work rate around the park. It’s going to be an interesting challenge. I haven’t played against them in quite a while, so I am really looking forward to that challenge.”
@WynonaLouw
