IRISH RUGBY LAND A MASSIVE COMMITMENT IN A MONSTER SWAP WITH STORMERS.....

The Stormers move into the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup after a fantastic win against Harlequins at their fortress DHL Stadium in Cape Town and in doing so continued elevating themselves into club rugby’s elite tier.

It has been a fascinating journey for the Capetonians over the last 18 months, who went from almost not competing in the United Rugby Championship due to financial concerns to then go on and claim the title the very same season.

There was no stopping there as the side has kicked on and looks in a great place in the URC with only two regular-season games left before the play-offs.

Considering the additional fixtures of the Champions Cup and rigorous travel implications it quickly becomes clear that John Dobson’s men are some team.

Team culture
Dobson and his coaching staff have created an incredible culture at the club, one built on expression of self for the benefit of the collective. The whole idea of the ethos is to use individual intricacies as cogs in a machine whose goal is to put a smile on Cape Town’s face.

Most of the great sports teams in history share a couple of common threads; home dominance and connection with fans. This Stormers team has done that with a ridiculous 21 consecutive wins at home dating back to December 2021, meaning a lot of the team’s ‘Faithful’ fans have never seen them lose at DHL Stadium.

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Everything good in sport comes from winning, and the Stormers drawing their biggest-ever crowd at their new stadium against Quins last weekend is certainly no coincidence.

Intent
Winning is not only the reason the Cape side’s popularity is shooting through the roof, it is the quality of attacking rugby they play.

It almost seems like every single game the Stormers score a worldie of a try whether it is Damian Willemse soaring through the air after a pinpoint crosskick or a coast-to-coast beauty where more than half the team have been directly involved.