A win for the Stormers against the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday will give them a place in this year’s Super Rugby quarterfinals.
And despite not enjoying the best of seasons, they won’t have the toughest road to the final.
If they do get past the Sharks, the Stormers will move up to sixth on the log, provided the Rebels don't score a bonus-point win over the Chiefs and end with a better points difference than the Capetonians.
With the Bulls and the Lions also squaring off, the Stormers will then leapfrog the loser, setting up a trip to Canberra where they will face Aussie Conference winners the Brumbies.
Just three days until the @CellC Sharks vs @THESTORMERS. #OurSharks are hard in training and ready for an exciting game ahead. 🏉
📸: Howard Cleland Pix #STOvSHA #OurSharksForever🦈 pic.twitter.com/Z7YchY67ly
— The Sharks (@TheSharksZA) June 12, 2019
They will then end in the bottom half of the semifinal draw, meaning a visit to Argentina to face the Jaguares is as tough as it gets.
If all goes according to script, they might face holders the Crusaders in Christchurch in what will be any Stormers fan’s biggest dream.
Back to reality and what they need to do first. And that is to beat the Sharks at home.
Of the encounter, wing-cum-fullback Dillyn Leyds says: “It’s do or die, we’re preparing for anything.
AERIAL BOMBARDMENT: Sharks backline threat Curwin Bosch. Photo: Backpagepix.
“Both teams will come out for the victory they [the Sharks] have been good all year and we know they are a physical side that will come out to impose that on us.
“We’re at home and luckily we’ve been good at home all year and hopefully that’s something we can fall back on.”
Leyds and the Stormers back-three can expect the Sharks to kick at them a lot on Saturday.
Here is your DHL Stormers team that will face the Cell C Sharks at 15h05 on Saturday at DHL Newlands. Tickets available from Computicket. #iamastormer #thefaithful pic.twitter.com/LiuMdXY8g6
— DHL STORMERS (@THESTORMERS) June 13, 2019
The 26-year-old knows this and says: “It’s been the way they played the game they don’t play too much rugby in their own half.
Ahead of this weekend's clash against the @THESTORMERS, we caught up with Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira who shared his thoughts on the pending match this Saturday. 🏉 #STOvSHA #OurSharksForever🦈 pic.twitter.com/3VS2rqLoUA
— The Sharks (@TheSharksZA) June 13, 2019
“Louis [Schreuder], Rob [du Preez] and Curwin [Bosch] all have a good kicking game and as a back three we looked at that and have to adapt to that.
“We handled the Sunwolves’ kicking game really well [last weekend] and we’ve done a lot of hard work on our aerial skills."