You know things are weird when two teams from the same pool - in a four-group tournament - cross swords in the first knockout round.
Yet, that’s exactly what we will see when Pool D’s runners-up the Stormers host the third-placed finishers La Rochelle in the European Champions Cup Round of 16 on Saturday.
It’s a showdown we witnessed not too long ago in December 2023, when Stormers hooker Andre-Hugo Venter scored a last-minute try from a rolling maul, before Manie Libbok kicked the conversion from the touchline to give them a narrow 21-20 win.
La Rochelle, though, have played in the Champions Cup final for the last three seasons running and are back-to-back defending champions… so they know what it takes to win the big games and will enter the match at Cape Town Stadium as the undoubted favourites to make it to the quarterfinals.
But calmez-vous (settle down) Capetonians, I reckon coach John Dobson’s back-to-back United Rugby Championship (URC) finalists have what it takes to give the defending champions a bloedneus this Saturday.
Dobson knows it won’t be easy, quoted as saying of the clash: “It’s going to be a Test match...
“They are one of the best club teams in the world, better than most Test teams. They would be in the top 10 of World Rugby’s rankings without any stress.”
Big words from the coach.
But La Rochelle have proven themselves worthy of that sort of adoration in the past.
This season, though, things are a bit different.
As it stands, Dillyn Leyds and his teammates are fifth in the French Top 14, having lost 10 of their 20 games to date.
Their record in the Champions Cup makes for a similar reading, with the team losing two of their four games, so if ever the champs were there for the taking, it is now.
The Stormers’ now-director of coaching - congrats and well-deserved by the way - was further quoted by IOL Sport, saying: “We are going to have to be clever with our plans if we want to beat them.
“You can’t let their forwards conserve energy. You have to be clever with your ideas about stopping their rolling maul.
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“Those French forwards are known for how they park in the middle of the field to save energy. We are going to have to ask them questions to keep them moving.
“It’s a different tactical plan this week. This will be like a Test match. But we will be up for it.”
If it’s a Test match approach, the Stormers will once again have to let their slow poison do the trick and they have to be disciplined from start to finish.
As for the dangers of La Rochelle, they are a threat all over the park.
While South Africans Dillyn Leyds and Raymond Rhule will be familiar faces in the La Rochelle camp, Cape rugby fans might also recognise Australian Will Skelton and New Zealander Tawera Kerr-Barlow in the La Rochelle squad.
🗺️ || Tout savoir sur les Stormers.
— Stade Rochelais (@staderochelais) April 4, 2024
▪️ Le coach, John Dobson 👨🏫
▪️ La stat, 8 📊
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Coached by Ireland legend Ronan O’Gara, lock Judicael Cancoriet has been their most successful try scorer in the Top 14 this season to date with six touchdowns, while captain Gregory Alldritt is a player the Stormers have to watch closely.
It won’t be easy for Stormer Salmaan Moerat and his teammates, but it’s a hurdle they could clear in the end.
The reward? A place in the quarterfinals against either Irish giants Leinster or England’s wilde katte Leicester Tigers.
Snaaks genoeg, Leinster also come from Pool D - having topped it with the Stormers second and La Rochelle third.
The Iere also played and lost to La Rochelle in back-to-back finals in the last two years, meaning it couldn’t be any tougher for the Stormers to get to the semifinal stage.
Once there - in the final four - they could cross swords with fierce rivals the Bulls or Munster, before possibly playing in the final.
It’s a long road and it kicks off with dangerous curves, but if Dobbo and his team can navigate those draaie, there is no reason why Cape fans can’t start to dream big.