Leaving early, flying business class makes it easier for Stormers

The DHL Stormers are retreading their steps of a year ago when it comes to their routing into the later stages of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs but you get the impression they are in a much better space than when they visited Glasgow for the 2023/2024 quarterfinal.

For a start, they’re already in Glasgow, and have been since Saturday after they flew out on Friday. Last season they only left Cape Town in the buildup week and naturally that meant they also had to considerably curtail the training component of their preparation for the clash with Glasgow Warriors.

On top of that, team manager Chippie Solomons organised business class air tickets, which means they have arrived at their destination feeling a lot fresher than they usually do when on foreign assignment in the European competitions.

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“It is always nice when you have a week off before you have to travel as it gives you time to train,” said Stormers forwards coach Rito Hlungwani from Glasgow on Monday.

“Obviously last week we had the Springboks going off to an alignment camp at the end of the week. But we were able to get in some good work when the Boks were there on the Monday and Tuesday and then on the Thursday and Friday we got quite a lot of work with the players who were not away at the alignment camp.

“We trained early on Friday and then flew out later in the day. We feel like this will give us enough time to prepare for the game. We do not feel rushed like we did last time,” he added.

Loose forward Marcel Theunissen, who has enjoyed a bit of a dream season after for once getting an extended run in the starting team because of injuries, concurred with Hlungwani that the team is in a really good space.

“It was nice to be in business class, and we thank manager Chippy for that. We feel that we have trained well but also rested well. We got here nice and early but last week we were able to work on some good stuff. I’d say it has been a great week,” said Theunissen.

According to Hlungwani, the difference between now and last year’s trip is a marked one and he hopes it will count on Friday against a team that went on to win the competition after struggling initially against the Stormers before picking up late points that distorted the scoreline in what was really a very close game.

“Obviously when you fly business class it is nice and comfortable so you are not nearly as tired when you get to your destination. This is perfect as it gives us a full training week and that makes a massive difference. It’s also nice to be tackling the initial part of the training since arriving without having high fatigue levels like you have when you fly economy.”

Hlungwani said that apart from JJ Kotze, who is doubtful following the injury sustained in the warm-up to the penultimate league game against the Dragons, there were no injury concerns. The Stormers will need to find a replacement for Damian Willemse, who was suspended following the red card he was shown for an illegal tackle in the final league game against Cardiff.

The Stormers will announce their team for Friday night’s game on Thursday.