Despite goring the Bulls in their previous outing, the Stormers are wary of being bitten on home soil by the limping Sharks who will smell blood in Cape waters on Saturday, assistant coach Norman Laker says.
This mouth-watering United Rugby Championship (URC) coastal derby offers the Sharks an opportunity for redemption after a poor run of form (kickoff 7pm).
An away win over the Stormers would kick-start the Sharks' season and earn them much-needed URC log points at the Cape Town Stadium.
Laker said it is only a matter of time before a talent-laden Sharks side play to their full potential after a slow start under new coach John Plumtree.
“The Sharks maybe haven’t found their best form yet, but they have seven guys with a World Cup winning medal and they can beat any team in the competition on their day,” Laker said.
“The Stormers haven’t discussed being underdogs or anything like that. To us, the Sharks are a quality outfit and we will have to play well to beat them.
“If the penny drops on the day, they can beat any other team and once they find their feet they will be tough to beat and we are planning for the game accordingly. You cannot take anything for granted in this competition.
“Just because your position on the log doesn’t look that healthy doesn’t mean you can’t beat any other team in the competition on your day. I have spent time analysing the Sharks’ game against Connacht, so I agree with those who say that was a game where the Sharks showed a lot of potential. They were good on attack in that game.”
Apart from Plumtree taking over, Dave Williams is back as their defence coach and his influence is starting to show, said Laker.
“After that Connacht game, the Sharks went to altitude to play the Bulls and they started off well in that game but then made two or three mistakes that saw the Bulls score 21 points quickly and they were out of the game.
“For a team coming together under a new coach, it is never easy going to Loftus. Apart from anything else, there’s the altitude.
“But on the day the passes can stick, the counterattack with Aphelele Fassi could suddenly start working and if they click as a group it could turn around their whole season. Hopefully, that won’t happen on Saturday.”
Stormers hooker Scarra Ntubeni said he is looking forward to coming up against former teammate Eben Etzebeth on Saturday.
“I don’t think he will have a point to prove,” Ntubeni said.
“Knowing Eben, he is so fired up for every game, whether he will be playing on the C-field at Bishops or Cape Town Stadium. He is competitive, so I don’t think he has a point to prove.
“Maybe this week the Sharks will be asking him a few questions about us, as he spent six or seven years with us. They will dig into his history about me, Neethling Fouche and the other guys he was here with, which we would also do.
“If we play the Bulls we have Lizo Gqoboka who will give us advice and the coaches will decide whether to use it.”
The Stormers will name their team on Friday.
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