Stormers begin sabotage mission ahead of URC final against Munster
One of the talking points heading into the United Rugby Championship final this weekend between the Stormers and Munster has bizarrely been the state of the Cape Town Stadium pitch.
It looked as though their win over Connacht in the semi-finals was going to be the Stormers’ last game at the stadium this season until Munster’s late heroics against Leinster meant the final is now being played in Cape Town rather than Dublin. That was great news for the Stormers players, bad news for the staff working on the pitch, who have to contend with not only the Stormers playing on it, but Western Province and football’s Cape Town City FC as well.
After one final training session for the Stormers ahead of Saturday’s final, the pitch did not look too healthy. Sport24 Senior Sports Reporter, Khanyiso Tshwaku, shared some footage of the team training on Friday, and even their training was tearing the pitch apart, which does not bode well for two teams actually playing on it for 80 minutes.
The stadium is getting a new hybrid pitch for next season, so it is one last hurrah on Saturday in what could look like a mud bath come the final whistle.
Take a look at the pitch:
Just from this drill, the pitch has churned up significantly after the first part of the @THESTORMERS captain’s run.@Sport24news pic.twitter.com/pQoyWJGgVA
— Khanyiso Tshwaku (@kaymorizm) May 26, 2023
The Stormers found this drill to be quite fun, but the pitch didn’t…@Sport24news pic.twitter.com/EvAlshPyG9
— Khanyiso Tshwaku (@kaymorizm) May 26, 2023
DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Steven Kitshoff (CAPT), Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe, Ruben van Heerden, Marvin Orie, Deon Fourie, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos
Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Neethling Fouche, Ben-Jason Dixon, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen, Paul de Wet, Clayton Blommetjies
Munster: Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Malakai Fekitoa, Shane Daly, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray, Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony (CAPT), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, RG Snyman, Alex Kendelle, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Keith Earls
