Stormers are well prepared for Toulon thanks to La Rochelle

Mike Greenaway

Stormers assistant coach Rito Hlungwani says the Stormers’ recent experience of playing La Rochelle in the Champions Cup has prepared them well for Saturday’s clash with Toulon in Gqeberha.

La Rochelle and Toulon are fierce rivals in the French Top 14 and have similar blueprints for tackling South African teams. La Rochelle beat the Capetonians 22-21 in a last-16 match at the DHL Stadium in April, and Hlungwani says they can expect a similar physical onslaught from Toulon, who have won the trophy three times.

“Toulon carry a lot of history; they have a very big pack and love the physical stuff, so it’s going to be a tough and intense battle this week,” he told the media.

“We will have ways of trying to exploit their size and fighting fire with fire in terms of their physical approach. We’ve done our homework and feel we’re heading in the right direction in terms of our plan and we just have to execute it come Saturday.”

Toulon are currently fourth on the log of the French Top 14. They have a powerful pack that is a replica of the La Rochelle forward combination that the Stormers struggled against last season,

Hlungwani said,: “Those teams will always have a massive lock in their team; if you think of Will Skelton at La Rochelle, he is a lock who doesn’t jump but his job is to destroy any maul and offer a lot of power in the scrum. He is a proper ball-carrier.

“Toulon are very similar and it’s going to be a massive set-piece battle. We know what is coming and we will be ready for it.”

Hlungwani said the Stormers had gone to school on their battle with La Rochelle and lessons have been learned.

“Because of the similarities between these French sides, it gives us not so much an edge, but a step forward in our preparation. It’s easy to look back and see how we prepared for La Rochelle and what we learned from playing such a big pack,” he said.

The Stormers’s forwards were magnificent in subduing their much-vaunted Sharks rivals in the United Rugby Championship last week and that gives them a foundation on which to build.

The front row of Ali Vermaak, Joseph Dweba, and Neethling Fouche got on top of their Sharks counterparts. It was a very successful return for veteran Vermaak.

“Ali was powerful on the left of the scrum. From a coaches’ point of view, we’re very happy with that picture and how Ali performed,” he added.

“He hadn’t played in a very long time and looked in good shape. He played against two Springboks and operated well. We thought Joseph was good right in the middle, Neethling as well, and the power they got from the back five.

“We’re carefully looking at our processes – what we’re doing well, what needs improving — to take us to the next level.”