The Stormers’ UK Express, Ben Loader, has warned his fellow Europeans Ospreys from Wales that you don’t just come to Cape Town and beat the hosts.
Jy sal sukkel, because you have to deal with more than just the 23 players on the field.
According to Englishman Loader who joined from no-defunct Britse club London Irish at the start of the season, it’s the Cape Town Stadium faithful that gives them that extra when playing at home.
Loader, 25, whose brother plays football for Porto in Portugal says in a video posted by the Stormers on X: “We spent five weeks away on tour earlier in the season, so when we have the games here we’ve got to make them count.
“I personally know how tough it is to come to Cape Town on the opposing side, so we’ve got to make sure this place is a fortress and for the most part we’ve done that. We’ve played well here and the crowd and the city give us a real boost.”
As they push for a top-eight place in the United Rugby Championship against the seventh-placed Ospreys at 7.15pm tomorrow night, Loader knows the Cape crowd will rock up, but he also knows they have a responsibility to entertain their mense.
Ben Loader can't wait to get back out there at DHL Stadium when we take on the Ospreys in the @Vodacom #URC on Saturday.
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 17, 2024
🎟️ Get your tickets now https://t.co/9cTOK7QcHr#STOvOSP #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/IwYw2F9A7G
He says: “It’s a game model that lets us play with a lot of freedom, any kind of framework is there to allow guys to express themselves.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in the team that are brilliant once they get a bit of space and I was always looking forward to adding my little bit to that.
“When you train with these guys day in, day out it forces you to get better. I’m loving that challenge.”
He concludes of playing at Cape Town Stadium: “There’s nothing like this place when it’s full and when we get these kind of crowds in full voice, it’s a special feeling…”
Coach John Dobson has already named his side for the clash.
DHL Stormers squad: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Frans Malherbe (captain), 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Damian Willemse.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za