Departing Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff is revved up to make Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarterfinal at Cape Town Stadium a geharde one.
The close of the 2022/23 season will bring an end to the loosehead prop’s 12-year career at the Stormers as he is set to join Irish club Ulster from the start of next season.
The Springbok yster is jukking to help the defending URC champions retain the title.
Saturday’s 3.30pm clash is a rematch of last season’s final could very well be his last in front of the Stormers fans - with the only scenarios for more home games being if Ulster and Leinster are knocked out at the weekend.
Our biggest crowd of the season already at DHL Stadium on Saturday, so things will be busy.
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Nevertheless, Kitsie is pumped, telling the Stormers’ official website: “It is a huge game for me personally.
“It might be my last game for a while at Cape Town Stadium and in a Stormers jersey.
“Playing for the Stormers is the best decision I could have ever made as a young rugby lad, and playing in the north-south derby in a playoff, it’s extremely personal.
“It’s games like these that you look forward to as a kid growing up. When you get to these moments, you live for them.”
Playmaker Damian Willemse reckons that Kitshoff’s farewell will give the span extra bit of motivation.
He says: “Everyone is well aware that it might be Steven’s last match at Cape Town Stadium.
The DHL Stormers have played some sensational rugby in the Vodacom #URC 👏
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“If it happens that results do not go our way and we don’t get to play another game with Steven at Cape Town Stadium, so be it.
“But for us as a group, we are focused to get our stuff right and be in the best position to win the quarterfinal.”