The Stormers won't fall into the trap of thinking a hurting Edinburgh will be an easy target in their final tour match on Saturday.
After easily overcoming Zebre Parma 36-5 this past weekend in Italy, the match in Scotland will allow the Cape side to end their opening United Rugby Championship (URC) tour with success should they win.
1⃣ more on the road. We finish our @Vodacom #URC tour in Edinburgh this weekend. #EDIvSTO #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/bvKSqlMNrI
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 7, 2024
They've targeted two wins away from home at the start of the campaign, but getting back-to-back victories overseas has been difficult for South African sides in the URC.
With Edinburgh winless after three matches, the Stormers have the perfect opportunity to add to their own winning momentum by getting one over their Scottish opponents coached by two South Africans, Sean Everitt and Scott Mathie, who will know the Cape side quite well.
The Scots also have the likes of South Africans Duhan van der Merwe (wing) and prop Pierre Schoeman on their side who's faced the Stormers plenty of times before.
Defence coach Norman Laker was a pleased man after Saturday when the Italians only crossed the try line once as opposed to the three tries from open play they conceded against the Ospreys. But, he added that they still have so many things to improve on ahead of their third match, even if they did defensively well in their previous clash.
“To keep Zebre scoreless for 76 minutes and 35 seconds was something special for me.”
The Stormers have this tradition where Laker buys the team donuts should they not concede any tries, and he said he would've been happy paying in euros for the sweet treats had they done so.
“To keep Zebre scoreless for 76 minutes and 35 seconds was something special for me,” Lake said of the defensive performance.
“We were disappointed conceding those four tries in the first game, it was hurtful to the squad and myself as defence coach. But the guys put their hand up and said sorry about it, although sorry sometimes comes too late. There will be learnings from it, though, I am sure about that.
How the leaderboard is shaping up after Round 3 👀
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 7, 2024
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“We rectified some things in the lead-up to Zebre and I am happy it worked out. Zebre is a really good attacking side that looks to keep the ball in hand, and we wanted to apply pressure on that.”
Now, he wants to see the same kind of ferocity on defence, because the Stormers coaches know Edinburgh will come out swinging in front of their home fans after two tough matches against the Bulls and Lions.
“Even if they have three losses on the trot, you can't take them lightly.”
They will definitely look to set the record straight against a South African side and the Cape side is next on their horizon.
“They might not click at the moment, but they can on Saturday. We've played them quite a few times and they are a quality outfit. Even if they have three losses on the trot, you can't take them lightly.
“In this competition, there is no weak team. Anyone can beat any team on any given day, so you have to be up for it every single weekend to give your best.”